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| Angelina Jolie |
"By the Sea" is dead in the water, which may come as a surprise to those who love Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, but even their admirers will have difficulty enjoying themselves in this dreadful outing, a leaden, pretentious clap-trap directed and written by Jolie that is a crashing bore and devoid of much meaning. Set in France during the mid-1970s, Vanessa (Jolie), a former dancer, and her husband Roland (Pitt), an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar keep (Niels Arestrup) and some newlyweds (Melanie Laurent and Melvil Poupaud). Much like the real couple themselves, the tepid "By the Sea" is lovely to look at: the attractive leads, the lush photography, the costumes but this vacuous, artsy look at trying to saving a marriage modeled on some of the European art films of the 1970's is one of the most tedious films seen of late. Jolie's direction and writing, which showed promise with last year's uplifting true story "Unbroken," has little going for it here, and the film's lack of coherency is glaring, not to mention it's just terribly uninvolving. Pitt is a drunk writer, Jolie is his mopey wife and little happens until they become peeping toms to their neighbors in the hotel, some frisky newlyweds who put a spark of sorts back in the couple's relationship and in the movie itself; this voyeur aspect of "Sea," designed to the its provocative angle (other than seeing Jolie topless in a couple of scenes), is mostly just creepy and tiresome. The Jolie-Pitt brand will certainly draw some in, but "By the Sea" is a lifeless arthouse affair; instead of a seaside vacation, this unlikable and unsympathetic couple is in great need of couples therapy, and best to just leave us out of it. Note to Angie and Brad: we don't care. Take a lot of No Doze if you attempt this snooze fest.
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