Come in closer (Far And Away (DVD))

Member Name: MI9to5

Product:	Far And Away (DVD)
Date:	14/09/08 (79 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some great acting

Disadvantages: Maybe too long

Far and Away is a great film that transports the viewer on the brilliant journey from Ireland to America along with the films main characters Joseph and Shannon.

Joseph is a poor tenant farmer who after his fathers death feels it is about time that justice was brought to his oppressive landlord, Daniel Christie, and so heads to his house in order to take his revenge. Instead of killing his landlord however like he had planned Joseph is injured and the landlord's wife and servants nurse him back to health.

Meanwhile Christie's daughter Shannon is growing tired of the family's traditions and ways and longs to be a modern woman. Whilst Joseph is being nursed back to health Shannon makes plans to leave for America and implores Joseph to help her. His visit to the house to kill Daniel Christie therefore ultimately ends in him accompanying Shannon to America in her quest for land.

On arrival in America everything doesn't exactly go the way Shannon had planned and soon she finds herself relying on Joseph more than she ever imagined. Together the pair find lodgings and go about securing jobs and saving money. Joseph even turns to Bare-knuckle boxing in order to raise more cash. Their triumph however is short-lived and so the pair find themselves out in the cold and to make matters worse arguing with one another. But can they both remember their initial goal, to possess land in time.

Far and Away is a romantic adventure, in which both Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman put in sterling performances and really make the film a pleasure to watch. Cruise shines as the downtrodden Joseph and seems extremely comfortable in his role. His ability to charm and create humour with a single phrase couples fantastically with his quite impressive Irish accent. Kidman is also fantastic as the upper class Shannon and really plays the part perfectly. Everything about her manner from the way she walks to the way she talks oozes upper-class snobbery despite her want to move away from this tradition. Together the pair really brighten up the screen and their on-screen chemistry really shines through and from the very beginning the audience feels themselves being drawn into this wondrous epic of a tale.

The general filming of this film is also superb and really captures the mood of 1892. The costumes are perfect and the overall look of the film pulls the audience into the entire feel of the film. The music within is also wonderfully placed and really makes the film what it is. It captures the happiness and the sadness as well as the energy and pace of the situations in which the pair find themselves.

All in all I have to therefore say that this film is one of my favourites despite the fact that I initially thought it would not be to my tastes. One downside to the film is its 134-minute duration, which some people may find too long. Other than this the film is brilliant and I would highly recommend it. If you're looking for action and fantastic stunts however this film is certainly not one for you as the story itself is told in a more subtle way that relies on great scripting and brilliant imagery to tell a brilliant tale.

Summary: A fantastic script filmed to perfection