A Revolution in British Film Making
The war between England and France is raging over America and humble fur trapper Tom Dobb (Al Pacino) has no interest in becoming involved the fight. That is until Sgt. Maj. Peasy (Donald Sutherland) takes matters into his own hands and drafts his son Ned (Sid Owen/ Dexter Fletcher). With his son taken Tom sets about tracking him down and saving him. It is during his search that he meets Daisy McConnahay (Nastassja Kinski) and begins to believe he has a duty to fight for freedom from the colonies.
I admit I don't know every movie ever made but as a movie fan and reviewer I would like to think I know many of the important movies and a fair few from prominent actors. It is why when I stumble across a movie from a major star which I have never heard of not only am I curious but I also expect to watch something poor. Well let's be honest you don't get much bigger than Al Pacino yet I had never heard of "Revolution" and from what I read it was certainly not a good movie.
Now the trouble with "Revolution" and it is a movie with a variety of troubles starts with the casting of Al Pacino as you expect more from him. But whilst it is not a case of Pacino not trying, reportedly sick throughout the production, the simple fact is he was wrong for the role. That becomes very apparent from one of the worst accents you will have come across in a movie with Pacino often resorting to mumbling when the accent fluctuates which it frequently does. In fairness Pacino's accent is not the only poor one and Kinski also delivers one which fluctuates all over the place.
The thing is that the misfiring accents end up being a huge distraction and whilst director Hugh Hudson has attempted to deliver an epic story about the revolution it never fully grabs your attention, struggling to escape the shadow of those accents. But in truth the accents are not the only issue and the story itself is remarkably dull weighed down under an incredibly slow pace which makes it hard to become involved with.
Now there are a couple of interesting things I could tell you about "Revolution" and the first is that young Sid Owen, Ricky from "Eastenders", stars alongside Pacino in those early scenes as his young son Ned. And secondly this movie bombed so badly when it was released that it lead to a crisis in the British movie industry as financial backers became scared of investing in new productions.
What this all boils down to is that "Revolution" might appeal to those with some sort of interest in history as well as those who are huge fans of Al Pacino. But beyond that it is a movie which misfires from start to finish and becomes incredibly hard work to watch under its laborious pace.
