And the Best Picture goes to....

I found “The English Patient” to be a disappointing movie. It was intended to be a grand, romantic epic, but it fell far short of my expectations. In my opinion, it was a rather dull melodrama that dragged on and lacked any substantial depth.

The cinematography was beautiful and not excessive, unlike what was seen in “Lawrence of Arabia.” However, the storytelling was all over the place and made it difficult to follow the plot. As a result, I found it hard to care about the fate of the characters, despite the strong performances turned in by the actors.  Juliette Binoche is one of a few bright spots and won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance, but she couldn’t save this film from its meandering storyline.

This movie is another example of how in Hollywood, the term “epic” translates into overly long.  “The English Patient” did not need to be over two and a half hours, and overall, the story failed to hold my attention and left me unimpressed. In other words, I had little patience for “The English Patient.”

What I also find ironic is that Anthony Minghella will eventually go on to direct “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, which I found in many ways to be far superior to this film, yet that failed to receive any big Oscar nominations, such as Best Picture or Director.  Go figure.

In the end, “The English Patient” is more of a tedious art piece than a gripping love story, and I walked away wondering what all the hype was about.  It may have earned critical acclaim, but it my opinion the Oscar should have gone to either “Fargo” or “Jerry Maguire”.