Netflix Self-Torture Experiment Trilogy #30: Legends of the Fall
This was a suggestion from zippy48. As I’ve stated before, I’m nervous to watch this movie because I’m afraid I’m going to like it.
Synopsis from Netflix: The rugged Ludlow clan — father William (Anthony Hopkins) and brothers Alfred (Aidan Quinn), Tristan (Brad Pitt) and Samuel (Henry Thomas) — splinters when Sam goes off to fight in World War I despite his father’s opposition. To protect Sam, his siblings follow suit. But their efforts fall short, and tragedy ensues. Upon returning home, Alfred and Tristan face a new battle when both fall for Sam’s beautiful fiancée (Julia Ormond).
My thoughts (some spoilers included): Well, I did end up liking Legends of the Fall but I’ll be damned if it didn’t take forever for me to get to that point. This movie is a little over two hours long, but it feels like twice that because the story moves along so slowly. I even had to take a nap part of the way through, which is to say the beginning of it literally put me to sleep.
Eventually some cool shit happens with war scenes and bar fights, and then it gets boring again when Brad Pitt takes off for god knows where doing god knows what. In his absence, Aidan Quinn becomes a Congressman and ends up marrying Julia Ormond (who had married Pitt after the war). Once Brad Pitt returns, he then marries the daughter of their family’s Native American friend and starts a family. Julia Ormond is jealous because she and Aidan Quinn couldn’t have children, and all sorts of drama plays out.
I’ll stop with the plot spoilers now because this film is actually worth seeing if you haven’t seen it already, and I don’t want to be a dick. It takes some patience to get there, but there is an emotionally touching ending which is worth waiting for.
Completely random side note: I think it’s very odd that the only two movies to which I’ve given decent reviews this year both have main characters named Tristan. What are the chances of that? [Three out of five stars.]
