MartinHafer
This story is about a very emotionally constricted art expert and auctioneer (Geoffrey Rush) and the bizarre woman he falls in love with who won't allow ANYONE to see her through much of the movie."The Best Offer" is a difficult film to describe. Suffice to say it's one where what you see and hear may not be exactly what is happening....something I like very much in a film. It kept me guessing and only near the end did I really understand much of the story. In addition, the acting was very good and the director did a lovely job setting the mood with the lighting, camera work and music. Overall, a very lovely film with an ending that was depressing but clever.
Carlos Idelone
I have mixed feelings/thoughts about "The Best Offer". I'm surprised by the number of people who said, that they could see the ending coming early on. Did they know, that this was supposed to be a caper/crime film ? I knew nothing about this and being raised on "Disney", most of the way through I fully expected this to be a sweet or possibly tragic love story. I found the "twist" at the end to be so abrupt, that it was confusing and seemed unfounded to me, based on what had gone before. I obviously didn't pick up any of the hints people say were so blatantAccepting the ending, I can see this film, as a psychological study of the power of emotion over intellect in a person's life. The main character, it seemed, had been running from emotion his entire life. To protect himself, as many of us do, from uncontrollable emotion, he adopted a very strong intellectual approach in his dealings with others. We see, that he hid a very strong vulnerability to romantic love, which displayed itself in his private gallery of women's portraits. "His" women were delicate, aesthetic works of art, with none of the inconvenient messiness of reality. I think, that he possibly had been raised on "Disney" princesses also. When, in the film, he met a woman, who piqued his intellectual interest, his defenses were lowered and he believed, that one of his fantasy women had manifested in physical reality. This left him vulnerable to his hidden emotional desires and in the film to his downfall and humiliation. If the aim of the film, was to show this character study, I think, that it needed to be more introspective and subtle and dispense with much of the melodrama and gimmicks, that it embraced. I found the "caper" plot, to be too intrusive and abrupt and in that, it overshadowed and preempted the man's inner struggle.This is why, I saw the film as being at odds with itself and thus a little "wonky". I found it very well done until the final scenes, which I found rushed and lacking in redemption a man of this intellectual capacity may have experienced. The art direction and cinematography were wonderful. The acting, especially by Geoffrey Rush was touching.
Vika Harley
I am a bit confused. This is my understanding that the only entrance to the villa is the gate. When Oldman enters the villa, he opens the closed gate and closes it after he entered, right? Then he sees the opened gate and thinks that Claire just left the villa. Otherwise he'd look for her right when he enters the house. He goes to the bar and asks if someone saw the young woman, etc. One guy says that he saw her in the morning. But who opened the gate AFTER Oldman came in? If someone opened it for a purpose, wouldn't is be a red flag for such a smart guy? Little things make story, small mistakes like this kill the story. I liked the movie though. I also was sure that Billy was involved but don't understand when and why I realized that. Any suggestions?
