I would like to see this adapted into a play, as it could easily be done well. Lots of intense drama. Got a lot from it. I was really high when I watched it too. I also loved the use of colors. Dragged on just a little too long though. They could have probably cut out 2 "days" from the "menu" and it still would have the same affect.

Nice stylish and intriguing direction but a story that is both grotesque and laughable. The exaggerated stage type acting is a bit off putting too although it was an intentional stylistic choice. Overall this is good but not particularly memorable except for a few notorious scenes.

The distinct visual style helps keep it somewhat engaging, but for the most part it felt like an underdeveloped commentary on sex and romance punctuated by arbitrary shock value. Not bad and somewhat unique, but not especially rewarding for me.

ugly, ugly time in film, but still, this was good.

This film's stilted world enhances its depravity while sapping its resonance by rendering its characters too inhuman to care about. The result is a clash of hauntingly distant archetypes that is beautifully conceived but disappointing to experience. The brilliant performances, Mirren's understated wonder in particular, make me yearn for a more complex cast of characters that could explore this world's themes with the clarity and precision they deserve.

A film remarkably done, but Michael Gambon plays - very convincingly - one of the worst persons I've ever seen on screen. Interesting experience though.

Erotic, disgusting and exhilerating.

803

A "future" state of grit and disgustingness, stylish and evocative. The film is one long black joke, and Michael Gambon is terrifying.

Extremely pretentious and very very boring. Mirren in the nude is the only reason to see this film.

"The cinematography is nothing short of stunning with an amazing use of colors and composition, and fine tastes are mixed with digusting visuals, making this one very hard to watch, but intellectually rewarding."

A very visceral experience from start to finish. Visually stunning with its sets and I loved the way it used the colour for each setting and the clothing changed with it. Not really sure what the point of it was, but it looked amazing. Michael Gambon performance was brilliant from start to finish and despite how perfect the other three leads are, Gambon is just everywhere. Such a vile and despicable, yet so memorable character. Also special mention to the beautiful music.

Not his best work (the romance is kinda cheesy, and the costumes are painfully awful), but a weak Greenaway is still a brilliant film.

Visually it's very interesting, with the color schemes and sets that are obviously sets. Too bad the plot is way too thin for a two hour movie. Ironically, I only thought this when the action moved outside the restaurant, and was fine when the plot was basically watch Spica be an asshole while his wife fools around. Also, someone teach that opera boy another song!

A combination of engrossing and repulsive, this is the art of the macabre at its finest. That said, the film's internal logic seems to be coming from the mind of a serial killer. It's hard to make any criticism of the film's aesthetics and themes, but it's equally as hard to actually like it.

Having majored in art, I have a special admiration for Greenaway. As usual, this is a marvelous work of craft and cleverness, but I was surprised at how deeply it hit me on a visceral, emotional level. The art direction, acting, and music flow seamlessly into each other to such an amazing degree, it's a bit overwhelming.

Kind of Avant Garde surrealism. Hard to take 2 hours worth.

Bold. Gorgeous. Shocking. Great. Gambon doesn't stop talking throughout the entire film, and his performance is flooring. I don't want to see it again, but I probably will and will still love it.

Wow. Consider me blown away. The film left me exhilarated and shaken like I haven't been since first watching A Clockwork Orange as a teenager. The lighting, sets, and costume design show a great deal of craft and care, and the wonderful music adds to the visceral intensity. Gambon's Spica is one of the most horrifying figures in film that I've ever witnessed, and Mirren gives an absolutely daring performance. This is a bold, vicious, uncompromising masterpiece.

Bold, vulgar, wildly entertaining, and brilliant. There's really nothing like it (unless Greenaway's other work proves me wrong). Theatrical as all get-out, with bold lighting and color, stylized and artificial sets, and Michael Nyman's operatic score making it feel larger than life. It really does feel like opera - but a savage and scathing one at that, targeting not just Thatcher but any person of privilege who's gotten too big for their britches. Michael Gambon's lead performance is dazzling.

He told me it was his best, and I agreed.

This was the first Greenaway film I saw, and I was blown away. The panning techniques used were great and the changing color schemes along with the costuming was incredible. Gambon was perfect for the role of what I consider one of the most vulgar characters in film. Watching his character struggle to appear eloquent was hard to forget. Michael Nyman's score was the icing on the cake in this film, and added intensity to scenes that were already pretty breathtaking.