The Counselor (2 Stars)

I feel so annoyed when I look at the title of this film in my blog. The systematic spelling mistakes made by Americans are an eyesore. Everyone knows that the correct spelling is "Counsellor".

I often remember watching films in the cinema, especially if I was in a special place or with a special person. This is one of the rare cases where I remember not seeing a film in the cinema. The Birmingham Film Group went to see the film, but I was unable to go. I had a cold or some other trivial illness. I said I would go watch it by myself a few days later. The next day I asked my friends, and they were unanimous in their opinion. "Don't go to see it, it's awful". That puzzled me, because it's a film directed by Ridley Scott, and his films aren't awful. He's made some outstanding masterpieces in his life. Nevertheless, I listened to my friends and didn't go. I know them. I know their tastes. There are some that I don't listen to, because I know they think differently to me, but there are others whose opinions I take seriously.

It's only today that I've returned to this film, whose name I refuse to write again. It's one of a few films that I've found on Netflix that star Bruno Ganz. As I found out when I watched it, it's only a small role, a single scene lasting less than 10 minutes, but I watched the film out of principle. I'll watch any film that he appears in. But let's describe the film itself.

The film is about an American attorney who wants to make extra money from a drug deal, buying cocaine in Mexico and selling it in Chicago. He already has contacts both sides of the border, presumably criminals that he's got to know through his job. He only wants to do one job, because it promises a profit of $20 million. His contact in Mexico says he'll get a taste for the easy money of the drug trade and will want to continue. His contact in America tells him it's a risky business and advises him not to do it unless he has a rock solid escape plan.

The deal goes badly. That's all I'll say.

My first impression of the film, based on the opening scene, was that it's a poorly written erotic thriller. Don't get me wrong, I'm a very sexual person and I enjoy watching films with sexual scenes, but the opening scene with Michael Fassbender and Penelope Cruz wasn't erotic, it was just silly. The poor dialogue was delivered without any passion. Instead of A-List actors, it looked like a shoddy high school project.

The film continued with less eroticism, just talking and drama, but that made things worse for me. It's a pattern I know well. If a film is dull and the director knows it's dull, he puts an erotic scene at the beginning to get the viewer interested.

From then on the film plods from one scene to another. In the hands of a better director it could have been a good film, but wait... shouldn't Ridley Scott be one of the better directors? If I hadn't seen his name on the credits I wouldn't have recognised it as one of his films. I would have guessed that it was made by Brian De Palma, but even for him it would have been a weak film

I would probably have watched the film eventually, even if it hadn't starred Bruno Ganz. I like Ridley Scott. I'm glad I've got it over with. There's no reason for me to ever watch it again.

Success Rate:  + 0.8

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de