Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Brainsbell The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Raul Faust "Bernard and Doris" is a quite unique drama that shows a relationship between a rich employer and a homosexual butler. Doris is a character that sometimes resembles the classic Miranda from 2006's "The Devil Wears Prada", while Bernard looks like Alfred from the Batman saga. Even thought we have some nice moments in this story, there isn't too much to care about the whole thing, considering there seems to be no climax to be reached after all. Most of the time it's just simple conversation that will end up meaninglessly, occasionally boring the spectator. It has a good cast and so, but such a contrived storyline doesn't hold the movie too well.

Armand two characters, two great actors. and that is all. the story is only the space for use the nuances of acting and to transform the tension in an impressive piece. sure, each film/play has that characteristics. this case is different only because the search of biographic details is almost vain. it is a Sandon - Finnes duel and the levels of character is all. so, it is difficult to compare or expect a story of Doris Duke more than a drawing/sketch with profound subjective lines. it is a beautiful film because it is a meeting with art of two masters of character grinding. and not the physical aspect or the details from a rich lady existence are relevant but the force of duel and the splendor of each step to build it.

scoochie9 This is a fantastic movie. I don't know thing one about the life and death of Doris Duke, and as it says in the beginning credits: "Some of this film is based on facts...Some of it isn't." What writer Hugh Costello, director Bob Balaban, actors Susan Sarandon and Ralph Fiennes have come up with here is sheer brilliance. Two troubled people who come together, almost accidentally, only to find that each of their unique psychological troubles meshes extremely well with the other's. Yes, it's a story about "enabling" and "codependence", but it's also a story of the power of friendship and loyalty (no matter how sadly unhealthy it might be for both parties involved). I can't say enough good things about the performances of both Sarandon & Fiennes, not to mention all the other actors, and the director, cinematographer, etc... But I must say, the writing is paritcularly effective. The story of these two people's intertwining lives comes off as so true, so kind-of tragic, and so compelling, that I will never forget this film. Bravo!!!

tedg I wonder. Sometimes I really do value something simple done extraordinarily well over something deep and ambitious done incompletely. Its rare, and I can feel it coming on with an aura that gives me warning. At such times, I have films like this ready. You never know if they will work, but you do know generally that they are built to be simple and direct.And you can judge something of the approach by the people involved. This was far less perfect than it would have had to been to justify the situation — which is simple. Rich woman, needy subservient man, along the lines of "The Dresser," or a dozen other approaches to the type. She accepts and rewards the devotion. End.So you have three individuals here, the two actors and the director. Each is placed for our judgment. Sarandon has by far the simplest task: to portray a simple woman. I believe her to be an actress with one or two mannerisms that were invested long ago in compelling characters, and thus unavailable here. She's not someone you could be charmed by.That could work well, even amplify the pitiful state of the character Fiennes plays. Unless he is allowed to shout, Fiennes brings only one quality: the portrayal of the suppressed self. This was perfect for one of my favorite films: "Oscar and Lucinda," where that effect was apt. Unlike Sarandon, he's not afraid to be the same guy over and over.Well, we could still be saved by Balaban. He is an intelligent man who knows staging, and who knows paired acting. But he's the big disappointment here. Everything is derived. Nothing is original. The whole idea was supposed to be that this woman was rare, unique. That merely being with her was an experience worth the effort. Fiennes' character is our surrogate, working to get close and stay close. This could have been effected by all manner of dramatic and cinematic devices, none of which seem to have been tried.Its as if this were a cheap play, not a rich life and a half.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.