This film is a very interesting piece of work. Adapted from an award-winning novel and directed by Martin Scorsese.

It is a very slow-moving film. Filled to the brim with slow dialogue and the rules and laws of late 18th century (wealthy) New Yorkers. Every shot is littered and over filling with era specific items and things. This film is Cinema with a capital C.

So, if you’re not a fan of any of that this might be a bore fest for you, but if you don't mind those things and you nestle in, there is a lot to enjoy here.

Firstly, Scorsese is amazingly adept at breaking reality with the visuals to highlight the underlying sense of mood of his characters. When our lead is confused, he is shrouded in darkness, but then within a second if he suddenly realizing something a bright sharp light will cut through his eyes.

There are many moments where this film forgets reality and layers on film styles and techniques that are very experimental and foreign. Whether it’s with the lighting, the coloring, and especially the editing sometimes even bleeding out to a solid color washing the entire screen. It's awesome (for me) to see such a rigid film, with a rigid story having moments of strangeness. Idk if anyone else will enjoy this but damn did it get me.

The score is good never truly swelling to the degree that I think it could have or ever anchoring itself to a theme or melody.

The stars in this film nail their characters with instant fluidity. Daniel Day Lewis of course breathes through his character and Michelle Pfeiffer as always, sweats sexual tension.

The story takes a while to start rolling but once it does, I enjoyed the themes and emotional crux at the center of it. I loved the sense of feeling suffocated by an organization or family or institution, basically being enslaved by your own ideals and morals and beliefs. All the while he is indeed dumb, dull and misguided. His weakness, his denial to deny his lifestyle and being honest.

He is propped up to be intelligent and independent yet, he is the most blind and enslaved of all.

As are most men, I believe.

So, in ending

9/10 – Phenomenal

Scorsese again shows how adept he is by changing genres. He delivers a slow-moving drama about class, masculinity and old American lifestyles.