“I’m not sorry. And I’ll not apologize. And I’d as soon go to Dublin as to hell.”
On my weekly trip to the local library, a movie caught my eye. Why? It beared Stanley Kubrick’s name on it, so I scooped it up along with my other movies. A few of my colleagues consider Kubrick to be the greatest filmmaker of all time, and I scoff at this, considering the films I’ve seen of his don’t hold the merit that in my opinion, would warrant calling Kubrick the greatest of his profession. I admit to not seeing all of Kubrick’s films, and some I have to re-visit (Spartacus for example), so I was very pleased to have found one that has eluded me for quite a while: Barry Lyndon, which, might be Kubrick’s finest film I’ve seen to date.
The film is a three hour long epic spanning the life of one Redmond Barry, or Barry Lyndon, as you will see later in the film, is the name he adopts. Cared for by his mother only, as his father lost a duel, we meet Barry who has a love interest with his own cousin, Nora. Soon she enters a courtship with an English officer, and Barry isn’t pleased, and he is filled with jealousy. This sets off Barry’s journey into the world, as he goes from Irish lad to English nobility with calculated moves that leaves the viewers emotionally distant from the title character, but that’s how I usually feel watching a Kubrick movie, so I pay it no mind. Based on William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel from 1844, it follows the Barry as if he is the hero of the story, but in fact he is not. The film has made Barry not a hero, but a man with no morals, character or judgment, which helps the viewer focus on the masterful surrounding that Kubrick has us set in with Barry. He shows no remorse when he loses everything around him, except when he *SPOILER* loses his son, for which he is losing the only remaining link of himself to carry on. Everyone else plays just another part in Barry’s life and are there just for show, not because they have any real meaning to him, but because he uses them to advance himself to what he ultimately wants, not effectively caring for anything that doesn’t involve himself. It’s pure narcissism, and we are taken through Barry’s life fully, not caring for one single thing he does, and that’s what Kubrick has set out for this film. Each scene flows perfectly, one after another, like a machine without any faults.
What is truly a terrific contrast, is that while the film’s title character is someone who throughout most of the film, did nothing planned out, he just goes on, while the narrator of the film, tells you most of what does happen, exactly like it is. Of course, the film would probably much worse if it wasn’t for its look. The art direction, cinematography, and costumes are all what extends this film beyond what it is, as it is one of the most beautifully crafted films ever made. I would definitely say this isn’t a film for someone who is just bored. You need to dedicate 3 hours of your life to this film and encompass what Kubrick set out to make, a flawlessly crafted film with much audacity that only a great director can pull off.
Trailer:
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