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"By the Sea" was written and directed by Jolie Pitt and
inspired by the grief she experienced over the death in 2007 of
her mother. It focuses on the stale marriage of former dancer
Vanessa (played by Jolie Pitt) and her husband, blocked writer
Roland (played by Pitt).
The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy called it "the kind of
vanity project you don't see much of anymore." He wrote that it
was a languid attempt at European arthouse cinema that "will
prove once again that even the biggest names in the world won't
draw an audience to something that, in and of itself, has no
reason for being."
The more than two hour-long film, which opens in U.S. movie
theaters on Nov. 13, reunites the two actors as a screen couple
for the first time since the flirty 2005 action comedy "Mr.&
Mrs. Smith", which brought them together in real life.
"By the Sea" - Jolie Pitt's third directorial feature - could
hardly be more different.
Alonso Duralde of TheWrap.com bemoaned the movie's "dreary
scenes from a dull marriage," adding that it was hard "watching
these two talented actors play blanks who have no chemistry with
each other."
Critics praised the cinematography as exquisite but said the
stunning visuals failed to make up for a weak script and a plot
where nothing much happens.
Scott Mendelson at Forbes.com admired the film more than he
enjoyed it and said it may appeal to fans of talky, beautiful to
look at foreign movies. "For anyone else, it will probably come
off like a feature-length perfume commercial punctuated by
outbursts of emotion and light kink."
Fred Topel of the NerdReport.com, was kinder than most of the
early reviewers on Friday. "Any time you get to see a
filmmaker’s soul on display, if that doesn’t intrigue you enough
for two hours, you’re missing out," he wrote.
But Variety's Justin Chang called the movie "an unabashed vanity
project" that is "meandering and overlong in ways that will test
the patience of even die-hard Brangelina fans."
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by
Bernard Orr)
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