The Magic of Belle Isle

Rob Reiner’s The Magic of Belle Isle sadly isn’t perfect, the script has an artificial quality that shines through quite often and because of that some of the supporting performances and even the leads suffer at points but there’s so much it does right through the connection to nature, Morgan Freeman’s charismatic lead, some of the comedic beats, and the story filled with lovely themes about art, romance and grief that the shortcomings don’t mean all that much to me in the grand scheme. I sadly can’t rationalize a rating higher than a 3 because of how much the script falls into that artificialness but I have to emphasize just how much I was smiling through the whole runtime, it does the job just well enough and with the fantastic concept that’s all I really need to have a good time. Rob Reiner’s direction is clean and tells this story and script about as well as possible, there’s no surprise there with how much I loved his work with Stand by Me and while this movie as a whole pales in comparison his work impressed me yet again. Another part of this that worked for me was the music, it perfectly captured the feeling a movie like this or The Way Way Back gives me with the beachside summer vacation location and it also did well to bring out the emotional beats which would’ve been a bit vacant without it. The cinematography also looked nice, like I said it had a nice connection to nature which paired well with the score and while there wasn’t exactly any mind-bending shots here it was done, like Reiner’s direction, about as well as it could’ve been. I mentioned Freeman and he was easily my standout but I also enjoyed Virginia Madsen, their chemistry was a definite highlight of the movie and she also serves as the first Morgan Freeman love interest I’ve ever seen in a movie which is something I never even considered but also never knew I needed. The child acting was all good too only hindered by the weak writing, obviously Emma Fuhrmann was the standout with her focus but they were really all pretty good and elevated the experience. The Magic of Belle Isle is one of those movies you know isn’t great but warms your heart more than a lot of stuff out there and while I could’ve done with a bit more from it I really appreciate that and thus the movie as a whole.

“In the future, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t walk my dog.”

“He’s Dave’s dog.”

“I am not claiming to be his biological father.”

Rob Reiner’s The Magic of Belle Isle sadly isn’t perfect, the script has an artificial quality that shines through quite often and because of that some of the supporting performances and even the leads suffer at points but there’s so much it does right through the connection to nature, Morgan Freeman’s charismatic lead, some of the comedic beats, and the story filled with lovely themes about art, romance and grief that the shortcomings don’t mean all that much to me in the grand scheme. I sadly can’t rationalize a rating higher than a 3 because of how much the script falls into that artificialness but I have to emphasize just how much I was smiling through the whole runtime, it does the job just well enough and with the fantastic concept that’s all I really need to have a good time. Rob Reiner’s direction is clean and tells this story and script about as well as possible, there’s no surprise there with how much I loved his work with Stand by Me and while this movie as a whole pales in comparison his work impressed me yet again. Another part of this that worked for me was the music, it perfectly captured the feeling a movie like this or The Way Way Back gives me with the beachside summer vacation location and it also did well to bring out the emotional beats which would’ve been a bit vacant without it. The cinematography also looked nice, like I said it had a nice connection to nature which paired well with the score and while there wasn’t exactly any mind-bending shots here it was done, like Reiner’s direction, about as well as it could’ve been. I mentioned Freeman and he was easily my standout but I also enjoyed Virginia Madsen, their chemistry was a definite highlight of the movie and she also serves as the first Morgan Freeman love interest I’ve ever seen in a movie which is something I never even considered but also never knew I needed. The child acting was all good too only hindered by the weak writing, obviously Emma Fuhrmann was the standout with her focus but they were really all pretty good and elevated the experience. The Magic of Belle Isle is one of those movies you know isn’t great but warms your heart more than a lot of stuff out there and while I could’ve done with a bit more from it I really appreciate that and thus the movie as a whole.

“In the future, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t walk my dog.”

“He’s Dave’s dog.”

“I am not claiming to be his biological father.”

bulimic alcoholic

bulimic alcoholic

Just kinda good vibes. Not much more, but doesn't really need to be.

RIP Rob Reiner

Just kinda good vibes. Not much more, but doesn't really need to be.

RIP Rob Reiner

sweet movie about morgan freeman learning not to swear infront of kids

sweet movie about morgan freeman learning not to swear infront of kids

Moraleja: Morgan Freeman es irresistible a cualquier edad

Moraleja: Morgan Freeman es irresistible a cualquier edad