If I were to review this movie aesthetically it would be an 11/10. It is a nice movie to look at. The Edward/Wallis scenes in particular were pure eye-candy, especially for a period drama lover like me. The score of the movie was also great. It was actually one of the movie's tracks ("Dance For Me Wallis") that introduced me to this movie and made me want to watch it.
Sadly, as beautiful as this movie is, it falls rather flat where its story is concerned. The entire Wally storyline should have been omitted altogether. The only good thing about it is that it has Oscar Isaac. This movie would have been great of it was just about Edward and Wallis. I actually thought that was the case and that Abbie Cornish and Oscar Isaac's characters were museum/auction people of sorts and that Edward and Wallis' story would be narrated through them.
To start with, Wally is a boring character. She does not deserve to be the protagonist of this movie and we as an audience do not deserve to have to go through her boring life when we could be watching a much more interesting story; Edward and Wallis'.
Wally and Evgeny were supposed to mirror Wallis and Edward which I frankly found stupid because they really didn't have that much in common? You are hardly creating a parallel just because the characters' names start with the same letter. I also found Wally's name cheesy, much like the explanation behind why she's called that. I get that it was a big part of the film that she's obsessed with Wallis but I think they could have easily made that point even if her name was Jessica or Sarah. Her being called Wally was something you'd expect from a story written by a twelve-year-old, not professionals.
Another problem with this movie is that although it is a romance the actors don't really have that much chemistry with each other. Oscar Isaac is an actor who I think can be charismatic even next to a cactus but I still did not find Evgeny and Wally's love story particularly engaging. James D'Arcy and Andrea Risenborough are somewhat better together but I still didn't feel like Edward and Wallis' love was so grand and strong as the movie wanted us to think. I actually find that they have more chemistry in pictures (like that promotional picture of them on the beach) than they did in action.
All in all I think that if they omitted the Wally storyline altogether and kept it about Edward and Wallis only (but still found a place for Oscar Isaac in that storyline because he is frankly too awesome) this movie would have been a lot better.
Sadly, as beautiful as this movie is, it falls rather flat where its story is concerned. The entire Wally storyline should have been omitted altogether. The only good thing about it is that it has Oscar Isaac. This movie would have been great of it was just about Edward and Wallis. I actually thought that was the case and that Abbie Cornish and Oscar Isaac's characters were museum/auction people of sorts and that Edward and Wallis' story would be narrated through them.
To start with, Wally is a boring character. She does not deserve to be the protagonist of this movie and we as an audience do not deserve to have to go through her boring life when we could be watching a much more interesting story; Edward and Wallis'.
Wally and Evgeny were supposed to mirror Wallis and Edward which I frankly found stupid because they really didn't have that much in common? You are hardly creating a parallel just because the characters' names start with the same letter. I also found Wally's name cheesy, much like the explanation behind why she's called that. I get that it was a big part of the film that she's obsessed with Wallis but I think they could have easily made that point even if her name was Jessica or Sarah. Her being called Wally was something you'd expect from a story written by a twelve-year-old, not professionals.
Another problem with this movie is that although it is a romance the actors don't really have that much chemistry with each other. Oscar Isaac is an actor who I think can be charismatic even next to a cactus but I still did not find Evgeny and Wally's love story particularly engaging. James D'Arcy and Andrea Risenborough are somewhat better together but I still didn't feel like Edward and Wallis' love was so grand and strong as the movie wanted us to think. I actually find that they have more chemistry in pictures (like that promotional picture of them on the beach) than they did in action.
All in all I think that if they omitted the Wally storyline altogether and kept it about Edward and Wallis only (but still found a place for Oscar Isaac in that storyline because he is frankly too awesome) this movie would have been a lot better.