Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Ehirerapp Waste of time

ThiefHott Too much of everything

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Leonard Kniffel With Hugh Grant playing Frédéric Chopin, Impromptu seems an unlikely film to be, as some critics have called it, the best film ever made based on the notorious writer George Sand and her pursuit of the Polish-French composer whose attitude toward amour frustrated the daylights out of her. Grant plays Chopin as a handsome but delicate soul, and Judy Davis turns in another magnificent performance as the hyper-aggressive Sand. Grant's Polish accent is endearing; even if it is not quite identifiable; so what, they were speaking French anyway. Emma Thompson is a hoot as the social climber who plays host to Chopin, Sand, and Franz Liszt while her husband calls them a bunch of parasites. It's a very entertaining romp, with lovely scenery, witty lines, and lots of temperament. References to Chopin's Polishness are sprinkled lightly throughout.

Lewsir I am writing this because I've read 10 reviews and people seem to be taking this movie seriously. I don't understand. It's clearly a silly spoof of a film, not to be taken the least bit seriously. It's somewhat entertaining in that regard, though not particularly inspired. The acting is passable - though the more this is seen as intentionally silly, the better I would rate the acting. Whether it does the least bit of justice to George Sand, I'm not sure, but I hope not. Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant are pretty much wasted, since they are not especially comedic actors. Though as usual I enjoyed watching the sublime Mandy Patinkin, he can do no wrong in my eyes...Anyway, just don't expect a serious drama here...

peacham Brilliant direction from stage legend James Lapine highlights this delightful comedy of manners based on the romance of Chghopin and Sand.The cast is all together perfect. Judy Davis, sexy,strong and dynamic as Sand, Hugh Grant very low key and real as Chopin, JUlian Sands, arrogant and proud as Franz Lizt, the always wonderful Bernadette Peters, charming and duplicitous as his mistress.special mention must be made to Mandy Patinkin's scene stealing role of Alfred DeMussett. although on screen for probably no more than a half an hour total, Patinkin manages to steal the film as the cynical,alcoholic poet. Emma Thompson and the late Anton Rodgers provide delightful support as the Duke and Dutchess who invite the artists for the weekend and wind up the but of their jokes.all in all 'Impromptu" is a real treat.

tedg Sometimes you just like a movie. I admit I was prepared to like this. It features Chopin, and he is a large part of my musical world. His stuff really is magical, but only when flowing through a rich vessel. The things he wrote when he was with Sands are a touchstone of sorts for sustained passion, the kind that roots you to air.And. And it has Judy. She seems to have made some very bad choices in projects, a situation I cannot understand. But when she's tuned in, she gives echoes of just the sort of passion I hear from Frederic. She's tuned in here, despite the ordinary direction. Her character is close to the one that initially impressed me, in her brilliant career. Judy is capable of folded acting, giving us emotion directly from a character and at the same time standing as the writer (here, the writer) reporting that emotion and the immediate context to us. It seems to have been perfected by Australian actresses.Plus, we have Emma Thompson. She's so early in her career she wasn't billed so that I could find, so she was a real surprise. She inserts an Austen-derived character, a brunette, moneyed dope wishing to become sharper by rubbing against artists. The script is ordinary, riskless, surprisingly so. But it has one clever moment when the artists assembled in her country home give a play that makes serious fun of their hosts. Two other joys; the men playing Chopin and Liszt actually do play the piano. And finally, through the whole thing we hear Chopin pieces. They aren't performed by passionate, controlled pianists, but any Chopin in a film is welcome stuff. I think on my film site, I'll have a list of films that have Chopin pieces as central. You'll be surprised how many there are. "Five Easy Pieces" and "Autumn Sonata" are the obvious ones.All this, plus a nice opening scene of our writer as a redheaded girl, are enough to give you pleasure. It almost helps that the direction and story are lifeless. They don't challenge. Its as if we had Chopin perform for us, giving us the harvest of his pain and none of the pain itself.Hugh Grant is wrong for Chopin, but apt for the placeholder named Chopin in this film. He has only one good scene, where he worries over an impromptu that seems contrived. It should reflect spontaneity, he thinks. It isn't that it needs to be actually spontaneous, but that it be crafted in such a way that gives that impression. What is the impression of spontaneity? If you have a chance, check out Martha Argerich, in her 1965 recording. You want overflowing passion that seems always on the edge of falling but is shaped smoothly? You will never be the same. Thank George Sand, I think.The one really dire problem is that they used his piano music without regard to whether it would have been then written.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.