Catpaw - diary of an angry cat

Believe it or not, I’m still struggling with the film Nightwatching. I saw it during the Sept. Toronto Film Festival and haven’t decided what I really think about it. Can’t quite make up my mind whether I liked it or loathed it. But after seeing the number of people who have landed on this site looking for a proper review of Nightwatching, I decided I had better write one up.

Its one of those odd films that stays with you, gnawing away.

Visually, the film was a smashing success. Each scene was framed like a Rembrandt painting. This was totally cool! I enjoyed the framing, the colours, the movement. It was an incredible hommage to his work.

But…. oh there is a big but …. I just can’t get past the incredible potty mouth on Rembrandt. Not just Rembrandt, but on all the principles. I am not one of those that believe past generations all spoke in high tones and Shakespearean verse. They spoke just like we do - swearing, slang and contractions. However …. the dialogue was so … so …. potty mouthed! I just can’t get past it. I don’t know anyone who swears as much as this group did!

The dialogue let down the entire film, turning it from a wonderful spectacle to a farce in the wings.  I sat through about 40 minutes of the film trying to figure out who Rembrandt reminded me of. Have you ever watched the BBC series Blackadder? Rembrandt reminded me of Lord Flashheart, a reoccurring blowheart of a character with a foul mouth and bloated ego. For the rest of the film, this is all I could think of. I kept waiting for Edmund Blackadder to slide onto the scene. Kind of ruined the rest of the movie for me.

The film would have been better as a silent offering, with music in the background and no dialogue. Then it would have been fascinating. With the sound it was mundane and a bit boring. I found the script tedious and at times silly.

I’d be hard put to recommend this film to anyone. It was a tremendous letdown because it could have been oh so much better.

Stumble it!