The Object of Beauty | | Cast : | John Malkovich, Andie MacDowell | | Director : | Michael Lindsay-Hogg | | Studio : | Lions Gate Home Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | April 12, 1991 | | DVD Released Date : | June 18, 2002 | | Language : | English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | April 24, 2005 | | Summary | Clever and somewhat satisfying | Content
 | Here's a real clever little comedy about vacuous people and a stolen piece of art that turns into a morality tale.
John Malkovich and Andi McDowell -- who both bare their backsides as well as their souls in this flick -- are a couple escaping something and living in London far beyond their means. As a way to resolve this they hatch a plan to swindle an art dealer with an expensive trinket that looks like a Hurst shifter from the 1970s.
The little mystery about deceit, swindling and lost souls becomes much more than this when an attendant at the hotel where the pair live decides she is in love with the piece of art -- and takes it home. What follows is conundrum after conundrum for a half-dozen people, including all the principals, told in a very witty and funny style.
Lolita Davidovitch steals scene after scene as the deaf mute that makes up rooms in the hotel and makes off with the object of beauty, which she says speaks to her. Everyone gets theirs in the end, as the small diversion of a movie concludes with its characters exiting with less than they arrived.
This movie is good fun that delivers rewards to attentive viewers far bigger than its ideas. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 14, 2003 | | Summary | Still a great movie, inspite of the DVD edition | Content
| I was totally frustrated sharing one of my all time favorites with my husband and not being able to hear the dialog that makes this movie so unique. This movie has a depth, rich use of language, passionate characters, a plot and the classic American happy ending. I still learn something every time I watch it, but was surprised to find it in the Comedy section. And I love that I still cry when the deaf girl explains why she stole the piece. Great Art moves you. And for art lovers who want the real Henry Moore experience, go to the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 25, 2003 | | Summary | Good Movie, Bad DVD | Content
| This is a really good film for people who appreciate subtlety and somewhat offbeat character development. This will not impress people who tend to gravitate more towards action or overt drama. Malkovich and MacDowell turn in understated, nicely done performances as the films antiheroes, and they accomplish the somewhat difficult task of making us feel for these self-involved characters. All the other characters are played well and the different plots mesh nicely. The only complaint I have is with the DVD itself. The audio was abysmal on my system, and I am not really the pickiest of audiophiles. In fact, this is the only time that I've been disappointed in or even noticed a DVD's lack of sound quality. My player has a special feature that brings dialogue to the center speaker, and for some reason it would not work with this DVD. The dialogue was difficult to understand throughout, and I often had to adjust the volume and replay bits of scenes to figure out what had been said. Also, there are zero special features on this DVD... no trailers, no commentary, nada. I would wait for a better transfer rather than buying this DVD version of the film. It's definitely worth a rent, however, for those who can appreciate what it has to offer. |
| Rating | | | Date | November 01, 2002 | | Summary | Loved This Movie. John Malkovich is great. | Content
| I became interested in this movie, because I always thought that John Malkovich was a great actor in everything. Especially in In The Line Of Fire. I became curious of this movie when I heard it was a comedy. I rented it last night and thought it was great. I just placed an order for the dvd. There is just the right amount of humor. Both John Malkovich and Andie Macdowell are great together in this. I only gave it four stars because I think there could have been a little less scenes with the deaf and mute maid. However, I did think she was good in it. There was also a part of the story that they could have done without, and they didn't bring any closer to it. But, I highly recommend this movie. Especially if you are fans of John Malkovich and Andie Macdowell. It was nice to see John Malkovich as a nice guy, with some short comings though. He had great humor. I would definitly like to see him play this type of character again. |
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