think alike? This morning I learned for the first time that a Massachussets couple has been running in parallel with us all thru “the 00’s” on a site called Reeling Reviews. I found them because I went on to Rotten Tomatoes in search of commentary on Agora (the new film about Egyptian mathematician Hypatia starring Rachel Weisz). Specifically I was raving mad about Michael Phillips’ 2 Star review in Friday’s Chicago Tribune, which totally missed the point of this beautiful, challenging, heart-felt film.
So, I asked myself, would another female film critic see Agora more like me? And that’s when I found Laura Clifford’s review, which, yes, indeed, gave Agora an A. But Laura’s review was accompanied by a review by someone named “Robin.” Robin gave Agora an A-. I assumed Robin was another woman, but surprise, a little digging quickly revealed that the Cliffords were a married couple much like us. In fact one interviewer wrote, “Even when they give a movie the same grade, it’s almost never for the same reasons.” Says Zell. “They just naturally approach it from different directions.” Wow! Words only recently out of my very own mouth!
Shout out to the Cliffords: Nice to meet you!!! And let me just say this to Laura: Maybe the guys who marry gals like us are the same guys who know how to value a film like Agora??? (And then I’ll let the counterfactual speak for itself…)
Click HERE to read our FF2 haiku for Agora.
Click HERE for review by my grad school buddy Bill.
