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===Critical response===
===Critical response===
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film has a rating of 42%, based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/genius_2016/?search=Genius |title= Genius (2016) |website=Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=May 2, 2016}}</ref>
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film has a rating of 42%, based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/genius_2016/?search=Genius |title= Genius (2016) |website=Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=May 2, 2016}}</ref>

British reviews include:
* '''''Guardian'':''' "Michael Grandage’s debut film, on Thomas Wolfe and his literary editor Maxwell Perkins, is hammily acted, overstylised and lacking in subtlety"<ref>
{{cite news
| first = Henry
| last = Barnes
| title = Genius review – Colin Firth and Jude Law's literary bromance needs an edit
| publisher = The Guardian
| url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/feb/16/genius-review-maxwell-perkins-thomas-wolfe-colin-firth-jude-law
| date = 16 February 2016
| accessdate = 19 June 2016}}</ref>
* '''''Independent'':''' "The acting, along with John Logan’s script, belongs to the theatre"<ref>
{{cite news
| first = Kaleem
| last = Aftab
| title = Genius, film review: Michael Grandage should have stuck to his day job
| publisher = Independent
| url = http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/genius-film-review-michael-grandage-should-have-stuck-to-his-day-job-a6877626.html
| date = 16 February 2016
| accessdate = 19 June 2016}}</ref>
* '''''Telegraph'':''' "All the blaring trumpets and martinis the director can fling us as jazzy background don’t save the film from being very unappealingly lit indeed - full of drab, grey interiors, it's halfway to monochrome. "<ref>
{{cite news
| first = Tim
| last = Robey
| title = Genius review: 'a colourless chore'
| publisher = Telegraph
| url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/genius/review/
| date = 16 February 2016
| accessdate = 19 June 2016}}</ref>

American reviews include:
* '''''Variety'':''' "Though Michael Grandage’s dull, dun-colored “Genius” makes every effort to credit the editor’s role in shaping the century’s great novels, it’s nobody’s idea of interesting to watch someone wield his red pencil over the pile of pages that would become Thomas Wolfe’s “Look Homeward, Angel,” even if the editor in question is the great Maxwell Perkins. While the talent involved should draw smarthouse crowds, the result has all the life of a flower pressed between “Angel’s” pages 87 years ago."<ref>
{{cite news
|first=Peter
|last=Debruge
|title=Film Review: ‘Genius’
|publisher=Variety
|url=http://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/genius-film-review-1201706276/
|date=16 February 2016
|accessdate=19 June 2016}}</ref>
* '''''The Hollywood Reporter'':''' "The insurmountable problem, however, is that the story engages only late in the game, once Tom has betrayed his father figure by revising his previous acknowledgment of the role Max played in molding his genius. But perhaps due to the anesthetizing effect of most of what's come before, the central relationship lacks spark and the pathos remains muted. Even scenes that should burst with excitement, such as Tom loosening up sober Max in a Harlem jazz club, are like CPR on a lifeless body."<ref>
{{cite news
| first = Tim
| last = Rooney
| title = 'Genius': Berlin Review
| publisher = The Hollywood Reporter
| url = http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/colin-firth-jude-law-genius-865326
| date = 16 Feruary 2016
| accessdate = 19 June 2016}}</ref>
* '''''New York Times'':''' "“Genius” is a dress-up box full of second- and thirdhand notions. Set mainly in a picturesquely brown and smoky Manhattan in the 1930s, it gives the buddy-movie treatment to that wild-man novelist Thomas Wolfe and his buttoned-up red-penciler Maxwell Perkins."<ref>{{cite news|first=A. O.|last=Scott|title=Review: ‘Genius’ Puts Max Perkins and Thomas Wolfe in a Literary Bromance|publisher=New York Times|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/10/movies/review-genius-puts-max-perkins-and-thomas-wolfe-in-a-literary-bromance.html|date=9 June 2016|accessdate=19 June 2016}}</ref>
* '''''Rolling Stone'':''' "You know the drill: Strong source material, in the form of A. Scott Berg's National Book Award-winning biography on Perkins, a top-notch screenwriter (John Logan) and a to-die-for A-list cast. Having all the right ingredients doesn't mean you can't royally screw up the recipe, however, and the missteps start coming fast and furious even before Law's manic-hillbilly act wears out its welcome."<ref>{{cite news|first=David|last=Fear|title=Review: ‘Genius’ Puts Max Perkins and Thomas Wolfe in a Literary Bromance|publisher=New York Times|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/genius-20160611|date=11 June 2016|accessdate=19 June 2016}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|1703957}}
* {{IMDb title|1703957}}

Revision as of 19:38, 19 June 2016

Genius
File:Genius.xlg.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Grandage
Screenplay byJohn Logan
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBen Davis
Edited byChris Dickens
Music byAdam Cork
Production
companies
  • Michael Grandage Company
  • Desert Wolf Productions
  • Riverstone Pictures
Distributed bySummit Entertainment
Release dates
  • February 16, 2016 (2016-02-16) (Berlin)
  • June 10, 2016 (2016-06-10) (United States)
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

Genius is a 2016 British-American biographical drama film directed by Michael Grandage and written by John Logan, based on the 1978 National Book Award-winner Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg. The film stars Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Dominic West and Guy Pearce. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.[1]

Synopsis

The story of Genius follows the story of American Southern writer Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law) and his connections with New Yorker Maxwell Perkins (Colin Firth), the publisher. Perkins had already previously published works by the great American writers Ernest Hemingway (Dominic West) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Guy Pearce). The story also follows the almost "romantic" affair between Wolfe and Perkins.

Cast

Production

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on October 19, 2014 in Manchester, and ended on December 12, 2014.[2][3][4]

Release

The film is released on June 10, 2016. The film had its premiere at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, 2016.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 42%, based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10.[5]

British reviews include:

  • Guardian: "Michael Grandage’s debut film, on Thomas Wolfe and his literary editor Maxwell Perkins, is hammily acted, overstylised and lacking in subtlety"[6]
  • Independent: "The acting, along with John Logan’s script, belongs to the theatre"[7]
  • Telegraph: "All the blaring trumpets and martinis the director can fling us as jazzy background don’t save the film from being very unappealingly lit indeed - full of drab, grey interiors, it's halfway to monochrome. "[8]

American reviews include:

  • Variety: "Though Michael Grandage’s dull, dun-colored “Genius” makes every effort to credit the editor’s role in shaping the century’s great novels, it’s nobody’s idea of interesting to watch someone wield his red pencil over the pile of pages that would become Thomas Wolfe’s “Look Homeward, Angel,” even if the editor in question is the great Maxwell Perkins. While the talent involved should draw smarthouse crowds, the result has all the life of a flower pressed between “Angel’s” pages 87 years ago."[9]
  • The Hollywood Reporter: "The insurmountable problem, however, is that the story engages only late in the game, once Tom has betrayed his father figure by revising his previous acknowledgment of the role Max played in molding his genius. But perhaps due to the anesthetizing effect of most of what's come before, the central relationship lacks spark and the pathos remains muted. Even scenes that should burst with excitement, such as Tom loosening up sober Max in a Harlem jazz club, are like CPR on a lifeless body."[10]
  • New York Times: "“Genius” is a dress-up box full of second- and thirdhand notions. Set mainly in a picturesquely brown and smoky Manhattan in the 1930s, it gives the buddy-movie treatment to that wild-man novelist Thomas Wolfe and his buttoned-up red-penciler Maxwell Perkins."[11]
  • Rolling Stone: "You know the drill: Strong source material, in the form of A. Scott Berg's National Book Award-winning biography on Perkins, a top-notch screenwriter (John Logan) and a to-die-for A-list cast. Having all the right ingredients doesn't mean you can't royally screw up the recipe, however, and the missteps start coming fast and furious even before Law's manic-hillbilly act wears out its welcome."[12]

References

  1. ^ "Berlinale 2016: First Films for Competition and Berlinale Special". Berlinale. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  2. ^ Willacy, Josh (October 17, 2014). "Lights, Kidman, action: Colin Firth and Nicole blockbuster starts filming in Manchester". mancunianmatters.co.uk. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  3. ^ "On The Set, - Box Office ... Abrams Wraps The Cellar, Tom Hiddleston Finishes I Saw the Light & More". ssninsider.com. December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  4. ^ "Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman and Jude Law begin filming 'Genius' in Manchester, UK". onlocationvacations.com. October 27, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  5. ^ "Genius (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  6. ^ Barnes, Henry (16 February 2016). "Genius review – Colin Firth and Jude Law's literary bromance needs an edit". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  7. ^ Aftab, Kaleem (16 February 2016). "Genius, film review: Michael Grandage should have stuck to his day job". Independent. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  8. ^ Robey, Tim (16 February 2016). "Genius review: 'a colourless chore'". Telegraph. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  9. ^ Debruge, Peter (16 February 2016). "Film Review: 'Genius'". Variety. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  10. ^ Rooney, Tim (16 Feruary 2016). "'Genius': Berlin Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 June 2016. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Scott, A. O. (9 June 2016). "Review: 'Genius' Puts Max Perkins and Thomas Wolfe in a Literary Bromance". New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  12. ^ Fear, David (11 June 2016). "Review: 'Genius' Puts Max Perkins and Thomas Wolfe in a Literary Bromance". New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
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