The Man Who Cried

Starring: Christina Ricci, Oleg Yankovskiy, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Harry Dean Stanton
Directed by: Sally Potter
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Romance
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young woman (Christina Ricci) travels to Europe with dreams of going to America to find her father (Oleg Yankovskiy).

Review:

Tim: I wish I liked The Man Who Cried more. I feel like this film had some potential, but I'm really not sure where it went. The film is about a Russian Jewish woman and her search for her father. Except it's only about that sometimes. It's also about her friends, her job in Europe, and a few other things. It is hard to explain this movie, because not a lot really happens. I will get into this more, but the film leaves a lot to be desired.

What I like about this film is that it shows the troubles and challenges a Russian Jewish woman would have experienced in Europe in the years leading up to World War II. We see as her family and existence are nearly destroyed, how she has to leave everything she knows and as a young girl, flee to Europe to survive. I was really struck by the bravery required of children so young. I thought back to my early years and realize I did not have the intelligence or the bravery to survive such trying circumstances. That aspect of the film was fantastic.

It's when that little girl grows up that the movie starts to spin out of control. She's now Christina Ricci, and we see her make friends with a Russian woman, a gypsy man, and clash with a famous singer. These scenes in Paris are interesting- they held my attention while I watched. Unfortunately, they don't seem to go anywhere. For much of the movie, it felt like someone had hit "pause" on the forward movement of the plot. I was bored with some of the excruciating slow scenes. I got lost in Paris, and I started to forget what the movie was about or why I should care. Director Sally Potter completely loses control of the film here.

Christina Ricci does a good job in her role. She isn't spectacular, but I found myself intrigued by her character and didn't mind the slow plot quite as much. Cate Blanchett is a good addition to the cast. Her Russian accent isn't perfect, but she gives an energetic performance. She has a few brilliant moments, and works well with Ricci. Johnny Depp felt out of place to me. There's really not much for him to do except brood quietly and look like a gypsy. I enjoyed seeing him on screen, but I can't remember a single positive thing about his performance. John Turturro was actually fun to watch on screen. I don't like him much as an actor, but he was obviously pouring a great deal of himself into this role. It seemed important to him, and his dedication showed up in the performance. He did stray into over-the-top territory a few times, but mostly he was good.

While the middle of the film dragged quite a bit, I loved the beginning of the film. By the end, Potter pulls the film back together, and I felt like the ending was fairly good. It was a bit disconnected from the rest of the film, but it connected well with the beginning. The movie ended on a positive note, which it badly needed to do.

When I think back on The Man Who Cried, I really did not care a great deal for it. However, it features an impressive cast, and the topic was well worth exploring. I'm probably being a bit forgiving with my rating, but the viewing experience was not miserable. I'd consider this an "okay" movie, but one that Sally Potter could have done so much more with.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



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