morrison-dylan-fan Talking to a friend recently about films she was keen on taking a look at,I got told about an interesting-sounding Costume Drama starring Robert Pattinson.With having recently been impressed by Pattinson's performance in the gritty Post-Apocalypse film The Rover,I decided that it was the perfect time to uncover The History of a Scoundrel.The plot:Paris 1890-Penniless since he left the battle field, soldier Georges Duroy is happy to run into his wealthy old friend Charles Forestier.Sad to see how poor his friend has become,Forestier decides to invite Duroy to stay with him and his wife Mrs. Madeleine Forestier.Taken by Duroy's charms,Madeleine introduces Duroy to her friends Clotilde de Marelle & Virginie Rousset.Learning that Charles now edits a newspaper,Duroy decides to take advantage of Madeleine and her pals attraction to him,as Duroy sets his sights on leaving his penniless life behind.View on the film:Whilst some of the dialogue sounds far too modern for late 1800s Paris, Rachel Bennette's adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's novel,does well at painting a cruel atmosphere,thanks to Bennette showing the desire for power to be the fuel behind all of Georges Duroy's relationships.Taking a slightly anthology style approach to each of Duroy's liaisons, Bennette is disappointingly unable to give the relationships any feeling of depth,due to Bennette giving the characters an outline which is only skin deep,which also causes Duroy's rise to power to feel rather abrupt,and not reaching the dark dramatic notes that the film desires.Transferring from the stage to the cinema, directors Nick Ormerod & Declan Donnellan superbly use deep rich blues to show the riches that Duroy is gathering for himself,which are haunted by a dark charcoal blacks,which are slowly draped over the film,as Duroy discovers the lies behind his riches.Along with the strong blues & blacks,the directors also give the movie an elegant sheen of light greens and yellows,which make the surprisingly graphic sex scenes sparkle.Surrounded by a dazzling array of girls, (all of whom look stunning,esp when naked!) Robert Pattinson (who makes sure that it is not all one-sided,by also appearing naked in the film) gives a very good performance as Georges Duroy,thanks to Pattinson showing Duroy's swagger to be one that hides a fear over returning to the bottom of the ladder.Giving Duroy a major bed/step up to power, Uma Thurman gives a wonderful performance as Madeleine Forestier,with Thurman bringing a dominating sass out of Forestier,as Duroy discovers that he has become a scoundrel of history.

slightlymad22 Plot in A Paragraph: Georges Duroy (Robert Pattinson) is a penniless soldier returning from war. He travels to Paris in a search for ways to improve his social and financial status. He uses his wit and powers of seduction to charm many of the wealthy women in the countries capital.Stepping away from playing brooding vampire Edward Cullen in the "Twilight" movies, Robert Pattinson simply plays an extension of that character, and plays a brooding former soldier who only has three expressions. Depressed, brooding and smug. His performance is so similar his character here could simply be Edward Cullen pre him being bitten by a vampire. Of the female cast Uma Thurman is still attractive and owns the screen when she is on it, the often under rated Kristin Scott Thomas is solid support, but it is the delightful Christina Ricci that steals the show as Clotide de Marelle. He is a joy and I'm always impressed when I see her (albeit it not often enough)Of the rest of the cast only Colm Meaney stands out.

Dragoneyed363 Bel Ami, a 2012 film starring Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman and Christina Ricci, is one film you won't be sorry you missed if you simply choose not to watch it. In all retrospect, it's not a bad movie. The plot is believable and interesting, the characters are all pretty well rounded without too much depth and the sets are very beautiful. However, Robert Pattinson is quite a miscast. It is very obvious the entire film that he is detached and sorely lacking in some true emotions. Seeing as how he is the star, it is pretty boring watching him mildly act his way through a film that has real potential.If you are going to see the movie, definitely expect the female performances to be the highlight. Uma Thurman was splendid. She plays a very uptight and work-driven socialite who is a firm believer in her freedom and she plays it very well. Kristin Scott Thomas is another delightful addition to this film. With not as much screen time as the other leading ladies, she manages to act out some pretty emotional and intense scenes. The real gem is the only truly likable character in the film, Christina Ricci. Her energetic and very believable character honestly is the reason I give this film a 5 instead of a 4. She was so sweet and lovable, I found myself smiling at every scene she appeared on the screen.If you are going to see this movie, see it for Christina Ricci, with Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas as a plus...

spicelady67 The movie well depicts a time of separation of the poor and rich with great scene visuals and costuming. I enjoyed the Twilight series with Rob and his brief part in Harry Potter. His closeups are good and show the emotions of the rags to riches and not so honest fellow. The leading actresses are good and I feel the story went a little slow with too much mischief shown rather than the artful editorial writing dialog for the newspaper. I checked this movie out on DVD from the local library. I also like the soundtrack. Believe the R rating though it is not surprising for the time period depicted. I think it is interesting there is dismay at some modern themes when historical works show us this type of display.