A famous American soprano becomes trapped in a hostage situation when she's invited to perform for a wealthy industrialist in South America.
There are certain actresses that I look out for, for their ability to continually perform to a high standard and create emotionally engaging films throughout their career. Julianne Moore is one of those actors. Her appeal goes far beyond the small "sex appeal" window that most actresses get caught in and struggle to be respected coming out of. With such films as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, Hannibal, Crazy Stupid Love, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2, Carrie, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and the brilliantly warming Gloria Bell under her belt, Moore has been involved in over 70 films in the last 30 years.
It is all the more reason why Bel Canto was disappointing. I had hoped against all hopes that this would have been another A24 film (a studio that has been proving itself in its ability to fund and create exceptional films). Bel Canto is, however, is produced by a collection of companies (A-Line Pictures, Depth of Field, Bloom, and Priority Pictures), and perhaps due to having too many chefs calling the shots, this Michelin-star meal is as bland as boiled tofu.
It boggles the mind that this film was even adapted for the big screen. Based upon the novel of the same name by Ann Patchett, Bel Canto revolves around an opera singer; something that Julianne Moore is not. While Moore has been able to convince millions of audience members of many things across her illustrious career, opera is not one of them. All operatic notes in the film are actually sung by Renée Lynn Fleming an American operatic soprano, which was very well cast for the role, unfortunately, Moore was unable to properly emulate the proper body language and mouth shapes, nor convey the physical effort required to sing like an operatic soprano. Any time that Moore was required to "sing" an awe-inspiring piece, the audience was slapped in the face with an unconvincing mime-job for several minutes at a time.
The story itself had potential under the basis of a hostage situation, as it allows the audience to spend a lot of time with the "antagonists" of the film, and to understand their point of view. there is room to go in-depth into why they have taken hostages, who they are fighting against, and who they are trying to save. It is not a direction that screenwriters Paul Weitz and Anthony Weintraub take, instead simply telling the audience who we are meant to dislike, with no context to back anything up. It leaves the entire scenario feeling one-dimensional and makes it very difficult to empathise with any of the characters.
Perhaps it is irrelevant as the hostage-scenario is not the primary focus of the film. The primary focus of the film is the burgeoning love interests that emerge; these Stockholm syndrome-induced romance arcs that occur between the unlikeliest of characters simply because they have been forced into close proximity for an extended period of time. The idea that someone with a fanatical obsession would succeed in making the object of their affections fall for them, or the hostage wanting to "jump the bones" of the hostage-taker that has been pointing a gun at them every day, well, it all seems laughable.
The whole love story element of the film destroys the pacing of the film. Encapsulated with a high-energy first and third act, everything caught within the middle blurs together as nothing of note occurs. The stakes are not adequately communicated to the audience, and time that passes is difficult to determine, beyond occasionally seeing someone mark tallies on the wall. The second act does a reasonable job at humanizing the captors, but none of their characterizations have any depth to them.
The first and third act will certainly capture your attention, but it does not make up for a completely unengaging middle section. Overall, Bel Canto comes across very mediocre. Weak characters with minimal setup or development, in a film where very little happens. The premise manages to hold your curiosity throughout the film, but Bel Canto will not leave you feeling overwhelmingly satisfied at its conclusion. Julianne Moore looks stunning, but one can't help but think that the film would have felt more genuine with an actual opera singer cast in the film
Bel Canto is in cinemas from July 23, 2020