Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49461 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-06-18
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 105 minutes

Amazon.com
The director Michael Lindsay-Hogg has a name that sounds British despite the fact that he is a New Yorker by birth. Maybe that association derives from the fact that he's primarily helmed television films--segments of Brideshead Revisited, for example, as well as a pile of music videos for English bands like the Who and the Rolling Stones. One of his few ventures into feature filmmaking (another was the little-seen Frankie Starlight) is the 1990 film The Object of Beauty, which also looks, sounds, and feels British in sensibility. The film is set in a tony London hotel, the weather is England-dreary, and the clothes (when the actors are wearing them) are tweedish and woolly in appearance. And the story is essentially repressed and internal save for the brash American performances of John Malkovich and Andie MacDowell, who play a couple living way above their limited financial means. When Jake (Malkovich) bottoms out in a business deal, he urges Tina (MacDowell) to sell her little Henry Moore sculpture, an object of great beauty. Such beauty, in fact, that a young mute hotel maid decides to steal it for her own. The actress Rudi Davies, who plays the maid, steals more than the Moore, however. She sneaks the film out from under Malkovich and MacDowell, who was just coming off of her sex, lies, and videotape acclaim, and who is quite good here as well. The Object of Beauty is too subtle in its message--Jake and Tina lose their last monetary chance and in penury begin to discover who they are as people--to let us care about such a pouty pair, and the "hilarious mix-ups and mayhem" that the film promises are, in actuality, tame and trite. --Paula Nechak

From The New Yorker
Jake (John Malkovich) and Tina (Andie MacDowell) are a glamorous American couple camping out in a suite in a swank London hotel. They're unable to settle their account, which when the movie begins stands at about six thousand pounds, because Jake, a speculator, has blown all his money on a bad investment. Jake and Tina are unmarried and have no permanent address; they're charming, attractive drifters, getting by on style. In a sense, they're throwbacks to the sophisticated and slightly disreputable couples who floated airily through thirties romantic comedies: no-strings types who stick together for the best shallow reasons-for sex and laughs and the shared kick of living the high life without having to work too hard. The picture, written and directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, is conceived as high-style fluff, but it never delivers quite as much irresponsible fun as it promises. It's like a Lubitsch movie without the speed and the grace and the blissful inconsequentiality. Malkovich, however, is as unaccountably magnetic here as he was in "Dangerous Liaisons." His performance is a postmodern mutation of thirties style, an ungodly hybrid of William Powell and Boris Karloff, and it's sensationally funny. This is as original a piece of acting as you'll ever see in a romantic comedy. The supporting players are an unusually lively group: Lolita Davidovich, Peter Riegert, Joss Ackland, and Bill Paterson. -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Good movie, bad DVD
This little gem of a movie is one of those rare movies for grownups. The characters are real, imperfect people, not cardboard cutouts.

Unfortunately, the full-frame DVD doesn't do the movie justice. The sound is horrible, the picture is not especially good, and there are no extras whatsoever. Too bad. This movie deserves an audience, but this DVD will not help it get one.

Good Movie, Bad DVD
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.

Still a great movie, inspite of the DVD edition
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.