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Post by mcr5137 on Feb 3, 2007 18:21:36 GMT
I had been told this was a horrible film, that I would hate it and the only thing about it I would like is how young Ruf is and how nice looking he is. I have to say that I enjoyed this film ten times more than I did "Dirty Weekend" which I thought was one of the worst films I've ever seen, despite Rufus' brief (and very good) stint as the peeping "Tim" across the way.
Twenty-One is not 'fine filmmaking', but it is a decent film. I thought Rufus did a wonderful job as Bobby. And in the beginning we do see him at the office trying to be "normal". Most of the rest of the film, we see him immediately after he's shot up, so he is dazed and drooling! That looked very normal and spot on to me! The scenes when they visit her mother, he has come down just a bit and while he is slow, he does interact just a bit with the other characters, and, as you all have noted, his "Thank you" or whatever he says at the end, is very telling of his character.
Is this his best film? No. Is this a very good start to an amazing career as an actor? YES! I agree that he, most likely, as a newcomer to the craft, had to do what he was told, and he did what he could as he was learning his trade.
As I said, I had been told this was a most awful film and I very much expected to hate it, but I didn't. I am glad to now have this in my collection and will watch it again, maybe not very often, but I will watch!
JMHO,
Michelle
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Post by lizap on Feb 21, 2009 7:14:14 GMT
I've watched this once through, the post Rufus-segment on Fast Forward. I thought the movie itself was dreadful and the main character incredibly tiresome.
I found Rufus' performance fascinating. I loved the accent. I don't think I've ever seen a portrayal of a drug addict that didn't evince some measure of loathing for the person, but Rufus managed to keep Bobby lovable and make the drugs the object of disgust. I didn't even question that what's her name stayed with him, and normally I'm sure that's what I would have been thinking. Definitely a performance I'll want to look at again. I agree that that 'good night' to the mother was a moment that really stood out.
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Post by francesca on Feb 9, 2010 22:19:10 GMT
I have just watched " twentyone" for the first time. I am afraid I disagree with the hard reviews of this picture . I was expecting trash only watchable for Rufus and so surprised to find that I thought it was a very good film , This is my generation( I will be 40 this year.)that the film was about .The drugs the promiscuity and deaths of the young. I was lucky enough not to get involved in that way of life but knew so many that did .
I ,like Katie, ( and Patsy Kensit herself) went to a Catholic school(Convent school in my case ) and I saw friends go down the same road of promiscuity.
I am not a particular fan of Patsy but she has been earning a living as an actress since she was a very small child so she must have some ability and I think she caught the shallowness of the period so well. It is very easy to knock her now because of how her life has turned out
As for Rufus ,I thought his performance was excellent . Much has been made of showing too much of being high but that is how I remember some of the people I knew,You could tell by their posture and by especially the deadness in the eyes. It should also be remembered that actors are "directed" and being young then maybe he didn't have the standing to refuse the way he has now.
And as for loathing ,we didn't loathe those we knew who were hooked ,only pity and sadness for the people they had been.
I found this film very moving. I cried not just at Bobby's death and the coldness of his uncomprehending parents towards their "bad lot " of a son but for the time of my life and my generation that has gone
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Post by robela on Apr 2, 2011 17:08:51 GMT
I have just watched this film for the first time. Was not looking forward to it but wanted to watch because Rufus stars in it and I want to watch everything he has been involved in that I can. I enjoyed the film much more than I thought I would. I thought Rufus was outstanding playing this part. To be able to act so well at such a young age proves how talented he is. His scottish accent was excellent. He was so believable as the addict spiralling downward into oblivion. His performance was both moving and tragic. I thought Patsy Kensit was good also although I have not seen any of her other films. For me it wasn't the best of films, it was very disjointed and I probably would not have watched if Rufus had not been in it. Having said that, I enjoyed it and though Rufus was excellent. I was mesmerized by his performance. Brilliant!  |
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Post by lindragon on Aug 27, 2011 12:46:58 GMT
I found a second-hand copy of '21' on Amazon, not very expensive, and it has just arrived . Yay!! That's my weekend watching sorted.
The list of Rufus 'films to get' is now very short......until all ( ? )the new ones start coming out.
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Post by anglophile on Sept 21, 2011 2:47:10 GMT
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Post by GreenEyesToo on Sept 21, 2011 7:43:17 GMT
(Hey, Anglophile, I moved your post over to this thread - hope you don't mind!  |
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Post by anglophile on Sept 21, 2011 13:02:23 GMT
Thanks, GE2, for taking care of housekeeping for me for the movie "Twenty-one." Didn't realize there was already a thread. Once you pointed it out, I made it a point to read the things there. So now I know there are some positive responses to this movie, and that has made me re-examine last night's post. It was, clearly, highly emotional (what a shock that would be to my friends and family!) and it sprang entirely from the spirit and not the mind. On reflection, I think it was easy to see disaster looming early on and I was tensed for it all the way through. When it finally came, I was just wiped out --- my boy, dead with no one holding his hand or wrapping their arms around him until it was too late. It was just so sad. Maybe that's the point the writer/director was trying to make about drugs. If so, I wish he hadn't surrounded it with so much yucky stuff from the female lead. She was just such a completely unsympathetic character to me. Of course the title should have clued me in that her level of emotional maturity was not at its peak (please don't take that personally if you are young enough to be my daughter) but every time I started feeling the least bit sympathetic toward her, she did something so shallow and self-serving I just wanted to smack her.
I realize, too, that while I have never had to deal with a drug addict, my connection to alcoholics contributes to the jumble of feelings around any kind of substance abuse that destroys a life, so I'm not without prejudice in this area.
Maybe at some point I'll feel ready to go back and watch this again and try to find the positive threads others have expressed, because clearly they either reacted in a very different way than I did or were able to rise above the gut-level emotional response and appreciate some other facet of the film.
As for me, I just lost my boy and even though he was sharing a bed with someone he loved, in the end - despite all the things I've learned the hard way about what can and can't be done for a substance abuser - it felt as though she did just what he begged her not to do - she left him to die alone right next to her.
I need a Petruchio fix quickly before my day goes totally down hill. Must keep repeating to myself "This was just a movie. This was just a movie."
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Post by joyceinva on Sept 21, 2011 15:55:02 GMT
Anglophile -
You've just discovered the only down-side to being a Rufus fan. Our boy has made some very, shall we say, intense?, movies. He doesn't shy away from unpleasant subject matter or characters. He's not the kind of actor who does the same "good-guy" role over and over. He'd probably be pleased to know you had such an intense emotional (even if it was unfavorable) reaction to his performance - means he did a good job as an actor.
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Post by anyother on Sept 21, 2011 17:13:25 GMT
I can understand your feelings about this movie, Anglophile - I don't think the main character's likeable at all (especially some of the choices she makes). As for Bobby, the story is extremely sad, but I really liked Roof's performance here, and at such a young age. Very impressive!
I have to confess that when I re-watch it, I usually start at the introduction of Bobby (and stop watching when he's dead). Love the way he's the office sweetheart who can't really do anything wrong.
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Post by francesca on Sept 21, 2011 17:57:56 GMT
I have reviewed this film a while ago.
I have have watched it all through several times since . It is a low budget film and the main character is not a particularly nice one. but it is her rites of passage story.
As I said in my review, this is about my generation (I am 41) and I cannot watch this film without crying not just for Bobby but for people I knew who went that road.
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Post by megagem on Sept 21, 2011 20:28:48 GMT
Joyce and Anglophile: (I'm assuming you both own the film, most likely on VHS as that's the only version I've found thus far). If so, how is the sound quality on the VHS? I haven't seen Twenty-One yet and would like to order it at some point (I'm running out of "new-to-me" Rufus things to watch). I only ask because the sound quality of my VHS copy of AMONI wasn't the best. It was clear, but I found myself having to turn up the volume a lot (as is the case with many old VHS tapes) and at one moment when I rushed downstairs for something, I could hear it as loud as anything from downstairs when it was just barely audible upstairs That might just be my TV, though.... |
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Post by anglophile on Sept 21, 2011 20:54:13 GMT
megagem, my volume was ok, it was slightly grainy, however.
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Post by Petruchio - Good God on Apr 14, 2012 12:37:09 GMT
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Post by Petruchio - Good God on Aug 10, 2012 9:46:51 GMT
next press pic.... ;D  |
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