--- On Mon, 6/30/08, Stephen Burridge <
stephen.burridge@gmail.com> wrote:
My views on the movie aren't as decided as yours. I watched
it once a few months ago and was quite impressed. I'll
probably see it again.
Having said that, I'll note that I don't agree with all of
what you say. Monroe doesn't, as I recall, have nothing to
do. She's convincing as the beautiful little sister. Not a
fully developed character, perhaps, and Monroe may bring an
excess of star power to the role, but it's not a bit part. I
also think that Paul Douglas, while perhaps miscast as a
fishing captain, is a strong presence whose relationship with
Ryan works pretty well. And of course his character is
supposed to be dominated by Ryan's.
************************************************
Don't get me wrong. Douglas is an excellent actor and brings
a great deal to that role. The problem was casting him next
to Robert Ryan. Douglas' character is supposed to be a very
large and imposing man. Ryan is a cad but much less powerful
than Douglas. Douglas was probably 5'6" and Ryan 6'3' and the
director did not shoot their scenes together convincingly
enough to make one believe that Douglas could really overcome
Ryan in a fight, a point very important to the story. Those
are my issues.
I also think the point of Monroe's character being happily
married and content is rather lost because she's so glamorous
but has very few scenes and insignificant dialog.
Patrick King
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