Bloom

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Michael W Okay, viewers who have actually read (I have) Ulysses are almost obligated to find fault with Bloom. That is inevitable given the difficulty of the material under any circumstance much less expressing its complex psychological nuance cinematically. That said, I'm one of those literature and film buffs who appreciate the valiant efforts to merge the two art forms--even as so many of them miss the mark. With so many awful films raking in the moolah on the thinnest of premises while regarding audiences with epic contempt, any filmmaker even attempting to bring our literary heritage to the screen deserves some credit for making an effort to create real meaning in the public consciousness. Those critics excoriating Bloom and other attempts to bring the literary to the movie house (or TV screen) should wait for the summer parade of psychotic clowns, firearm fetishism, and techno blather headed your way. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/16/24 Full Review Audience Member Despite occasional moments of humor and sensuality, this is a woeful adaptation of the novel by Joyce. Stephen Rea mugs his way to eternity, and the supporting cast, aside from the actress who plays Molly, is fairly dreadful. Embarrassing, in a word. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member The characters from Joyce's <i>Ulysses</i> are personified in this film. My sentence-long summary of the film is as it is because the film is so loosely based on Joyce's book that it's hard to call this an adaptation; the characters have the same names and act vaguely like the book's characters, a few of the events are the same, but there are a lot of liberties taken. With a book like <i.Ulysses</i>, which is the pinnacle of modernism, this is understandable, and in fact, I think <i>Bloom</i> is a very good attempt at an impossible task. The voice overs, which usually amount to lazy story-telling, are appropriate, even though they get somewhat overlong and overbearing, and Angeline Ball is exactly how I imagined Molly Bloom when I read the book so many years ago. The film's problem is that while it presents these characters, there are no specific goals, no central conflicts, nothing to drive the plot forward. To some degree this comes with the modernist territory, but Joyce's book found little steps to push along the narrative, and the film's focus remains lost. Overall, <i.Bloom</i> is a valiant attempt, but it's no substitute for or even imitation of its source material. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member I haven't actually read Ulysses (yet) so I didn't know how much of the movie is faithful to the book but I have to say that this was not what I expected of the classic story! I had no idea it was so bawdy! This adaptation by Sean Walsh was often slow moving and a little hard to follow but certainly interesting and colourful, if not a tad surreal. Stephen Rea, Angeline Ball and Hugh O'Conor all gave great performances and I loved the scenery (it's Ireland after all), but I will probably have to watch it again and read the book finally to get more out of it. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie stands as a creative and faithful( as one can be) adaption of Joyces' masterpiece-- of course a large portion of the scenes and thoughts that make the book wonderful were left out-- but is it really possible to turn such a piece of genius into a movie?-- everyone here did a great job-- especially the wonderful cast-- and the movie is a stiring and beautiful testament to what Joyce was able to do-- he turned our thoughts and feelings into words. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Those who do not believe this is about as good a representation of what was actually in Ulysses as can be done did not take the time to actually read and understand what was being depicted by Joyce. From the taking of a dump in the outhouse, to Molly's saying she wants a tongue up her bum, to Bloom's masturbation watching a young girls taunting on a beach, they are RIGHT OUT OF THE BOOK. You cannot say you love th e book but don't like what was in it! That said, they are but scenes where much more is being said and treated that just the action. It is remarkable to go through an entire book with growing hatred of Mollly only to arrive at the Penelope scene and be confronted with the "other side". That is done quite well in this movie. Devlin did a good job directing and Rea was brilliant as the almost affectless Bloom. If you like Ulysses, you should like the movie. End of story. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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