and by the half-hour mark, she’s brushed under the rug. So it goes for any female in this film
That's hardly fair. Olivia Wilde and, to a greater extent, Alexandra Maria Lara, both have really important roles. They aren't just brushed away at all. I suppose you still think these two actresses are not given enough time or attention, but there are so many fantastic actors here with tiny roles, regardless of gender. To be frank, I don't really remember Natalie Dormer lasting past the 10 minute mark. She's basically giving a cameo performance.
Referring to this as a macho film is to suggest that the main actor we are following here is Chris Hemsworth. I'd argue that the real star here is Daniel Bruhl and he's hardly playing a macho role. Which of the two characters is more important is very much a personal choice, but what I was impressed by was the way they found so much in common between these two extremely different figures.
I'm also not sure you give full recognition that this is a story somewhat limited by the real life events it is based on. Unlike in "Frost/Nixon" at least there actually ARE important female characters this time...
Is Olivia Wilde even IN the second half of the movie? I'm having trouble offhand placing where abouts in the movie the divorce takes place, but I'd have thought it was slap bang in the middle. She doesn't come back into the movie after that, does she?
In any case, if she only has reaction shots in the second half it's because she's not involved in James Hunt's life any more after that point.
Niki Lauda confides with Alexandra Maria Lara's character and we probably see him talking to her more than to anyone else in the second half of the film and I seem to remember her regularly providing him with support and advice. Though I think it was probably an important part of casting that she is someone who can convey a lot even without saying a word, which is particularly helpful when we are expected to believe that her character has a deep emotional connection with an anti-social figure like Niki Lauda.
I think perhaps we also need to be aware that the female characters here were, actually like most of the male characters here actually, peripheral. The focus is, for the most part, squarely on the top central figures. Someone might make a statement from the sidelines or make a comment at a press conference or appear on Chris Hemsworth's arm, but in the end it is just those two central figures who are really properly explored. That seemed intentional to me.
Oddly enough I think that the other character who seemed to become most important in the second half was Stephen Mangan's character. Yet last week IMDB didn't even have him on the cast list.
That's hardly fair. Olivia Wilde and, to a greater extent, Alexandra Maria Lara, both have really important roles. They aren't just brushed away at all. I suppose you still think these two actresses are not given enough time or attention, but there are so many fantastic actors here with tiny roles, regardless of gender. To be frank, I don't really remember Natalie Dormer lasting past the 10 minute mark. She's basically giving a cameo performance.
Referring to this as a macho film is to suggest that the main actor we are following here is Chris Hemsworth. I'd argue that the real star here is Daniel Bruhl and he's hardly playing a macho role. Which of the two characters is more important is very much a personal choice, but what I was impressed by was the way they found so much in common between these two extremely different figures.
I'm also not sure you give full recognition that this is a story somewhat limited by the real life events it is based on. Unlike in "Frost/Nixon" at least there actually ARE important female characters this time...
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In any case, if she only has reaction shots in the second half it's because she's not involved in James Hunt's life any more after that point.
Niki Lauda confides with Alexandra Maria Lara's character and we probably see him talking to her more than to anyone else in the second half of the film and I seem to remember her regularly providing him with support and advice. Though I think it was probably an important part of casting that she is someone who can convey a lot even without saying a word, which is particularly helpful when we are expected to believe that her character has a deep emotional connection with an anti-social figure like Niki Lauda.
I think perhaps we also need to be aware that the female characters here were, actually like most of the male characters here actually, peripheral. The focus is, for the most part, squarely on the top central figures. Someone might make a statement from the sidelines or make a comment at a press conference or appear on Chris Hemsworth's arm, but in the end it is just those two central figures who are really properly explored. That seemed intentional to me.
Oddly enough I think that the other character who seemed to become most important in the second half was Stephen Mangan's character. Yet last week IMDB didn't even have him on the cast list.
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