Tulip Fever

The Academy Award winner for Best Picture of 1963 was Tom Jones, the story of a young rogue in 18^th Century England.   

The original cut of the film was rejected and it was only when the humorous voice of a Narrator was added that the film came together and gained its success.

Director Justin Chadwick might have saved his wacky 17^th Century melodrama Tulip Fever, if he had known this piece of movie history.   

Then, he might have settled on one out of the several filmic moods that float through this film and made it into a smart comedy that the movie’s Screenwriter Tom Stoppard is known for.

 

As it is, only Cinematographer Eigil Bryld stunning images shine, especially when they include the beautiful Alicia Vikander.  The rest of the brilliant cast, including Judi Dench, Christoph Waltz, Holliday Grainger, Zach Galifianakis, Cara Delevingne and Tom Hollander, each seem to be performing in his or her own movie genre.

The main problem with the story is that almost everything is telegraphed in the most unsubtle way, which is surprising for Stoppard and would have only worked if they did make this a Tom Jones-style comedy.

Tulip Fever gets a 3.3 out of 5.