Barry Lyndon

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Written by: Stanley Kubrick, based on "The Luck of Barry Lyndon" by William Makepeace Thackeray
Year: 1975
Genre: Drama
My rating: 3 out of 5

This slow-moving period drama is separated into two parts. The first, "Part I. By What Means Redmond Barry Acquired the Style and Title of Barry Lyndon," begins with a pistol duel in which the father of Irishman Redmond Barry (Ryan O'Neal) is killed. The narrator (Michael Hodern) tells us that his mother refuses to remarry and dedicates herself to raising Barry. As a young man, Barry falls in love with his cousin, Nora (Gay Hamilton). She leaves him for the rich English Captain John Quin (Leonard Rossiter), sparking a heated jealousy in Barry. He calls for a pistol duel in which he kills Quin, against the wishes of his family who would be better off with a rich relative like him. Barry then leaves town to go to Dublin and avoid imprisonment. Along the way, he is robbed by famous highwayman Captain Feeney (Arthur O'Sullivan) and his son Seamus (Billy Boyle). Without any money, Barry has no other choice than to join the British army. While serving, he is reunited with family friend Captain Grogan (Godfrey Quigley), who tells him that the pistol duel was staged and Quin is alive and well. Their regiment is sent to fight in the Seven Years' War, during which Grogan is shot and killed, and Barry takes the first opportunity that presents itself to run away. He runs into Prussian Captain Potzdorf (Hardy Kruger), who discovers that Barry is not, as he claims to be, a lieutenant, and forces him to enlist in the Prussian Army. After the war is over, Barry is employed to Potzdorf's uncle, the Prussian Minister of Police. He is arranged to become the servant of the Chevalier de Balibari (Patrick Magee), who they believe is an Irish spy. Barry confesses his identity to the Chevalier and the two become close friends. They are eventually exiled from Prussia for cheating at cards, and they travel around Europe cheating people from the highest levels of society. During this time, Barry meets the beautiful and wealthy Countess of Lyndon (Marisa Berenson). Soon after they fall in love, Lady Lyndon's diseased husband, Charles Lyndon (Frank Middlemass), dies. Thus begins "Part II. Containing an Account of the Misfortunes and Disasters Which Befell Barry Lyndon," in which a combination of his own neglect and the resentful feelings of his stepson, Lord Bullingdon (Leon Vitali), cause Barry's downfall.

I'm all for slow-paced films, but often the slow scenes here are unbearably and unnecessarily slow. The characters rarely seem real, especially early on in the movie. On top of that, a majority of the acting is dull and passionless. Leon Vitali is the only one with any believable emotion, and Patrick Magee and Marisa Berenson seem to at least put a little effort into their performances. In his one scene, Frank Middlemass as Charles Lyndon gives a spirited speech, but alas, it is his only appearance. Ryan O'Neal as the title character seems to only care about the role at times when he has to cry or throw something. Throughout the whole film, we feel nothing for Barry and are confused as to how we are supposed to feel. He changes so often that we have no time to get to know him. The film did excel in three areas: cinematography, art design, and particularly costume design. It won Oscars for all three. It also won an Oscar for Best Musical Score, but I personally found the score indulgent and largely ineffective. Kubrick received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, but lost to the much superior "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."


Structure/Form:
Why does the film start in the way that it does?
It starts on a low note to make his rise in society seem larger. Also, pistol duels play pivotal roles in his life.

Is sound used in any vivid ways to enhance the film?
There's quite a bit of background music (particularly Irish traditional music), but it feels a bit overbearing at times.

What specific scene constitutes the film's climax?
Barry and Lord Bullingdon have a pistol duel.

Does the film leave any disunities at the end?
Not really, there's a nice epilogue.


Theme:
How does this film relate to the issues presented or developed? What questions are evoked by the film? Does the film present a clear point of view on an issue? How?
It seems to shoot down all potential themes that arise. The only one I really noticed while watching was perhaps Barry was a bad father to Lord Bullingdon because his own father died, but he was a good father to Brian, so that idea doesn't really hold up.


Mise en Scene:
While traveling to Dublin, Barry is robbed by Captain Feeney and Seamus.

Dominant: Where is our eye attracted first? Why?
Barry, who fills the majority of the screen.

Lighting key: High key? Low key? High contrast? Some combination of these?
Mostly high key.

Shot and camera distance: What type of shot? How far away is the camera from the action?
The camera looks over the left shoulder of Captain Feeney at Barry, and Seamus behind him.

Angle: Are we (and the camera) looking up or down on the subject? Or is the camera eye level?
Eye level.

Color values: What is the dominant color?
They're in the forest, so there's lots of green and brown.

Subsidiary contrasts: What are the main eye-stops after taking in the dominant?
Seamus, and Captain Feeney's gun.

Composition: How is the two-dimensional space segmented and organized?
Captain Feeney's left arm and should are seen on the right, Barry is in the middle facing him with his hands up, and Seamus is behind Barry on the left.

Framing: Tight or loose? Do the characters have no room to move around, or can they move freely without impediments?
It's fairly tight, but the characters don't overlap at all.