“Robert, we all fail. Every day. There are some things we just can’t succeed at no matter how hard we try. I know it’s not what you want to hear.” – Basil Brown
Number of Times Seen – 1 (8 Feb 2021)
Brief Synopsis – Based on the true story of how a widowed woman hired a washed up archeologist to try and uncover a ancient artifact on her land in 1938.
My Take on it – Intriguing idea that moves along far too slowly.
Ralph Fiennes is great as one of the leads, but he plays his character in a very strange way.
None of the characters are developed well enough and there are far too many lulls in the story as it drags along a bit too much.
Carey Mulligan is also a great actress, but she also downplays her character far too much which makes it harder to care about her or anything that happens to her along the way.
The dynamics between the various characters aren’t established well enough and the political upheaval that this excavation creates doesn’t help make things more enjoyable to watch.
The premise is so much better than is realized here which is quite a shame because they could have made things so much more engaging and enjoyable to watch unfold but never manage to keep the story more interesting.
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Ralph Fiennes actually helped establish an archaeological field school based in Cheshire with his brother. The Poulton Research Project is a multi-period site with a significant medieval cemetery that archaeology students and volunteers help excavate every spring/summer. (From IMDB)
Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)
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