How odd, that this big old-fashioned wartime(WWII,England) romance should be considered by critics to be one of the best films of 1999, when, had it been made in Britain during the 30's, 40's, or even 50's, it would have been considered THE NORM. The British were turning out films like these by the dozens, from directors like Alexander Korda, and with stars like Lawrence Olivier, Merle Oberon, Ralph Richardson, Vivien Leigh, Robert Donat, and Madeline Carroll. The kind of film that was EXPECTED then, has come to be so UNEXPECTED now, that when we do get one, it's labeled a "masterpiece." So, what's changed...us(the audience) or the films? I suspect a little of both. I remember sitting through films like "Brief Encounter," "Waterloo Bridge," "Wuthering Heights," etc. and loving every minute of them. But, in many parts of this, the offspring of those films...I was bored!

If you want to feel like you've gone back to the 40's and experience the great love stories of the Hollywood from days long past, this is your chance. Ralph Fiennes is a writer haunted by the lost love he once had with a married woman, Julianne Moore. He takes you back through their relationship -meeting her, loving her, losing her, being haunted by her, confronting her husband, blah blah blah. And its all very nicely done with good acting and in a style that was once very popular but no longer is. And to tell you the truth, it bored me to tears. I can understand how some could enjoy it, but I just couldn't.