Customer Reviews

Passion of Mind [VHS]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This film got spanked righteously in the press and Demi Moore, leading lady, earned a Golden Raspberry (not a compliment) for starring in it.

But was this film as bad as the critics made it out to be? I certainly don't think so. While it is true the dialog was somewhat mundane and the leading men unsexy, the film really seemed to focus on the question of "what is reality?"

The premise of a woman who fragments her personality in her dreams to the point of psychotic delusion is fascinating. Fully functional when awake in either world, at first it is hard to tell which woman, New York Marty or Provence Marie, is the "real" one. But the director carefully controls the colors and temperature of the light. At first, Provence is sunny, warm and misty, New York is blue and cold. Even the skin tones of the actors change with the venue. But as Marty/Marie begins to integrate her personality, the colors shift in the cinematography. Moore is careful not to overact--her Marie or Marty is rather equivocal in her madness or sane-ness. Perhaps the critics wanted more ravings from her.

This is a cerebral film; no mad fugues with wild yelling and screaming and blood and guts. Instead, you have to see if you can psychoanalyse the fragmented mind of Marty/Marie and come up with a plausible explanation. If you get it right, you meet the end of the film with cries of "Ha, I knew it!" If you don't get it right, you get a pleasurable surprise. Either way, a fascinating psychological drama and well worth viewing.

I first saw this movie on a flight from Denver to Boston. You know what they say about in-flight movies. But I was fortunate enough to see it again....this time without the background noise of a jet, or the numbing feeling of being stuck in an aisle seat. Fortunately too, I saw it in HD. This is a beautifully photographed movie - with visuals that are simple, and at the same time, utterly stunning. The writing is top notch. You will be confused, bewildered, awe-struck - and then ultimately.....well....I don't want to give it away. This is a keeper. While you may not want to watch it more than once per year...it's a keeper.

How much one enjoys this film depends greatly on how much of Demi Moore you can stand. If you like long drawn out schmaltzy romances with Demi as the romantic heroine, you will love this film times two. Otherwise, hide any weapons lest you begin attacking your screen.

This film was toasted by the critics, but I didn't think it was that bad. In fact, I liked it. I guess I fall more into the first (sucker for schmaltz) category. The story was criticized as being a contrived version of "Me, Myself and I", where a woman is torn over the choice between life as a professional and the family shtick. That criticism really misses the point. This is a story about a woman's psychological attempt to deal with her traumatic past and has nothing whatever to do with lifestyle choices.

I found this to be an intelligent and complex character study of a woman who seems to be two people living two lives, but really isn't. If that seems cryptic, see the film and it might become clearer. When she goes to sleep from her life with her children in France, she wakes up to her high-powered career in New York and vice versa. She can't determine which is real and which is a fantasy. She has a lover in each life and both seem very real to her. As the story unfolds, she and we try to figure out which is her real life and which is the dream.

The trouble with the presentation is that its real intrigue lies with the psychodrama. Unfortunately, neophyte director Alain Berliner pushed that element to the background and cranked up the schmaltz machine, centering the story on the romances instead. That wouldn't have been so bad if they weren't so interminable. Scene after scene retraced the same romantic theme, until it became frayed.

Other than the misplaced emphasis, the film was well crafted. There were subtle hints throughout about which was the real life, but they were far from obvious tip-offs. However, when we finally discover the truth, it takes forever to wrap up the loose ends. To Berliner's credit, the locations were breathtaking, in both France and New York. It is easy to find beauty in the French countryside, but these were some of the most wonderful film perspectives I have ever seen of New York's skyline and street vistas.

After enjoying a few years as one of the highest paid entertainers on the planet, Demi Moore disappeared for three years. This was probably not the best vehicle for her return. Her performance was strongly emotional but one-dimensional, failing to differentiate the characters sufficiently. She played the high-powered NYC girl to be just as wimpy as the insecure girl in France. To be fair however, she created two very appealing and vulnerable romantic characters and deserved better notices than she received.

William Fichtner was not the greatest choice for her NY love interest. Fichtner is better at abrasive antagonist roles and his attempts at sensitivity came across as far too pathetic. Stellan Skarsgard was much better and made a dashing and attractive romantic figure.

This was a good story that took a sentimental detour under the guidance of an inexperienced director. Still, it was engrossing and even touching at times. I rated it a 7/10. Add a point if you like romantic pieces and subtract at least two if you aren't a Demi Moore fan.

...especially after all the critics totally panned it. I just got around to watching it broadcast on television. I found it well-acted and a refreshing break from mainstream movies these days. Demi Moore displayed some serious acting chops and never overacted her role. William Fitchner was absolutely wonderful in his role, as was Stellan Skaarsgard. This movie was a very different sort of psychological thriller(?). Watch it if you enjoy romance, the French countryside and good rainy day movies. You will not be disappointed.

This movie is so lovely. I saw the DVD box at the video store.. saw Demi on the cover.. and thought I have to see it if Demi is starring in the movie. I was completely surprised. Such a thought provoking story line. I recommend it to all movie lovers. You will not be disapointed.

Demi Moore gives a stunning and sensitive performance as book reviewer living in France. She also writes stories, but hides them from the world. She is living one life in reality and one in her dream world. She alternates between living in N.Y. and France. In France she is Marie. In N.Y. she is Marty. At first, not even the viewer can figure out which life is real.

When Marty/Marie falls asleep, she enters a fantasy land of her dreams, fears, sorrows and past pleasures. At some point she looses track of which world is a dream and which one is reality. She wants to live in both worlds because in each she finds significant fulfillment. She wants to figure out which world is real and says:

"I don't know how to get back to the way I used to be."

Her fantasy world does not seem to be harming her real life, but her real life seems
to be slowly destroying her fantasy/dream world. In both worlds, she falls in love with a caring man. In France, Marie falls for a writer (Stellan Skarsgard) who says he will fight for her, but keeps reminding her of when she gave his book a bad review. His theory of life is to always do what you wish you could. He wants Marie to love what he writes and to have her think he is amazing.

In New York, Marty is a business woman in love with a man (William Fichtner) who says he doesn't want to date her, he just wants to be interested in who she is and enjoy her. Marty asks him if he could ever care about anyone enough to save them from themselves and he proves he can by accepting her totally for who she is. She finally realizes that he is the man she has been writing all her stories for and gives them to him to read.

A beautiful thoughtful movie, especially the scenes in France! To me, this is about women who feel they have too many responsibilities and feel the need to escape to a more peaceful and romantic existence.

Anyone who didn't enjoy this movie, has never dreamed about living in France. Oh, I would be there in a minute. Provence, I will see you in my dreams.

Completely Captivating,
Romantic
and fulfilling
on many levels.

If you love foreign films, you will enjoy the artistic
nature of Passion of Mind.

~The Rebecca Review

I found this film intoxicating; I'd never heard of it, and found if on Showtime. I liked the premise of the film. Is it possible to live two lives?? On in a dream and another "real"?????

The film was intertaining. The cinematography was nice, unique takes on ordinary scenes. I completely enjoyed the film, to the extent I own it now. I can watch it over and over.

Demi Moore was so ubiquitous in the '80s and '90s that it was easy to take her for granted. But the three years since G.I. Jane and Deconstructing Harry (both 1997) represent the longest amount of time she's ever been away from the big screen. The good news is that Passion of Mind represents something of a change of pace; the bad news is that it doesn't fulfill the promise of its intriguing premise or the potential of Belgian director, Alain Berliner, who made such an impression with his Golden Globe winning debut, Ma Vie En Rose (1997).

Like Sliding Doors (1998), Passion of Mind is about a woman living two lives. The twist is that she's living both of them at the same time. In one, she's a single Manhattan businesswoman; in the other, a widowed mother living in the French countryside. Neither can tell which life is real and which is the dream (and both are so idyllic, it's hard to believe either could be real). And so Marty/Marie starts seeing a therapist in each life. She also meets and falls in love with a businessman in New York (William Fitchter) and a writer in France (Stellan Skarsgard).

Screenwriters Ron Bass (Snow Falling on Cedars, Entrapment) and David Field have basically written a Hollywood version of a European art house drama and, just as Marty/Marie is unable to reconcile the two halves of her life -- until the end of the movie -- Passion of Mind never quite comes together either as a splashy romance (there's little chemistry between Moore and her on-screen paramours) or as a serious examination of psychological/philosophical dislocation. But Demi Moore fans should be pleased to have her back where she belongs and to see her branching out into new directions.

Some Amazon reviewers of Passion of Mind would have you beleive it not worth your time: if you are a superficial, close-minded viewer more corncerned with Demi Moore's wardrobe and costume design than character development, plot twist, and strong performances than, indeed, Passion of Mind is not for you.

As a strong advocate of Demi Moore's underappreciated acting chops (see Mortal Thoughts or G.I. Jane for proof -- or even Disclosure of The Seventh Sign for than matter), Passion of Mind offers the viewer the strongest and most riveting performance by Demi to date. You don't have to be a hard-core Moore supporter to recognize the Passion put forth into the dual roles. Furthermore, straying from the usual big-budget, summer movie formula that propelled Demi to superstardom, here she steps back,in a sense turning her back on everything her typical audience has come to expect. Certainly, a calculated and gutsy move, Passion of Mind certainly pays off -- especially for the viewer who has the attention span to invest in a film with no fast moving action sequences.

The result is an amazing ride, an amazing story, and an amazing performance. The film is truely more in the independent style/art-house vein than that of Striptease and the results are surprisingly astounding. As a 22 year old male, take my word that if thought-provoking, character driven materail is something you may enjoy, Passion of Mind is your ticket.

William Fitchner co-stars as Demi's New York self's love interest. Here he shows amazing range and a quiet calculation of his part. In following his roles as of late, from the dreadful Drowing Mona to his compelling The Perfect Storm character, Fitchner definately delivers a quality to the role that may have been lost with other actors. Moore, exquisetly and subtley demostrating the differences between the neurotic, insecure New York literary agent and the calmed, mourning South-of-France widow, demonstrates, surprisingly well the overriding instability in two very different characters.

Passion of Mind, ... certainly deserves a look -- especially if what motivates you in a motion picture experience is, in fact, just that -- the experience (in lieu of playing Joan Rivers to the costumes or critiqueing Demi Moore's career choices). I've got Passion for this quiet, thoughtful, beutifully shot and acted sleeper piece.

Caught this on one of those pay-channel "free weekends". The reputation of *Passion of Mind* had, to put it nicely, preceded itself, and when it came on, I found myself sitting down to watch it, preparing to be morbidly fascinated at the proverbial train-wreck. I'm here to report the movie isn't as bad as all that, but it still probably isn't worth the investment of your time. Its premise saves it from total unwatchability. A woman leads two lives, simultaneously, in two different places: in New York, she's Marty, a big-shot career gal who runs her own literary agency; in the French countryside, she's Marie, widowed, with two girls, who writes book reviews for the New York Times. Whenever one of the characters goes to sleep, the OTHER character wakes up and goes about her day until it's time for bed, after which the FIRST character wakes up, etc. She even has a separate head-shrinker for each alter-ego. When the movie begins, she no longer has any idea which personality is the REAL one. This is all rather intriguing. For sheer originality, *Passion of Mind* is superior to most films that were released in 2000, especially that "Best Picture" winner with the bankrupt narrative, *Gladiator*. Devotees of French cinema certainly won't be put off by the challenging story structure or the focus on the interior life (the movie, after all, was directed by a Frenchman, Alain Berliner). Too bad the whole project is marred by the presence of Demi Moore as Marty / Marie. I suppose I should give her credit for trying to revive her career via the art-house, but she remains a most unpalatable movie actress. Has anyone missed her during the 3 years of her absence between the career-killing one-two punch of *Striptease* and *G.I. Jane* and this movie? But I'm not going to put all the blame for this movie's failure on Ms. Moore. Unlike earlier French films which *Passion of Mind* emulates, it unimaginatively trumps up a SOLUTION to its intriguing set-up . . . reminding us that, while the director is French, the production is American. Further, the pseudo-feminist spectacle of a woman enjoying the Best of Both Worlds -- power and prestige on the one hand, motherhood and gracious living on the other hand, with different lovers for EACH hand -- comes straight from those "women's magazines" that reek of perfume. How perfect. And perfectly ridiculous. Finally, it's embarrassing to watch two excellent actors, Stellan Skarsgard and William Fichter, playing second-fiddle to the marginally talented Moore.