Mal Walker This could have been a good movie, instead it slowly faded away into a hotch-potch of pointless scenarios. Firstly, if you are seriously going to change your identity, to the extent where you buy new passports and papers of a dead person you don't leave your old identity papers in your golf-bag. You also don't carry thousands of dollars around in an old sports bag, maybe you could do if you lived in the Vatican, but in the USA you wouldn't. Then you would not pick up a young girl who is obviously mentally unstable for some unknown reasons and even if you did you would be an absolute fool to let her sleep in your motel room so that she has access to your private papers, money, id's etc. while you sleep like a baby. Thirdly, if you were a golf pro. and had been on TV playing golf with the greats, you would not be looking for a golf job under a different identity while being exactly the same physically . Can you imagine Greg Norman turning up at a Golf Club under the name of Bruce Smith, weeks after the real Greg Norman was pronounced 'missing presumed dead', Don't you think one or two golfers would mention that the new golf pro looks just like Greg Norman and is playing like Greg Norman? ......... so far not so good, then we enter the sex scene sagas, pointless escapades of sex in other peoples houses, I don't know if many watching this movie thought that was worth watching...... I certainly did not..... Sorry, but this movie misses the mark when unfortunately with a good script it could have been half way decent.

mirveh Like many of the viewers I chose to watch this for the stars, King George VI and Queen Victoria (Firth and Blunt) But I would have given it a pass if I had looked up the reviews before taking it out of my local library . Big mistake.Never have I seen a film so consistently panned, and never have I thought the critics so consistently mistaken! Both the professional critics and other amateur viewers. To be fair, the latter gave it slightly better ratings, but not much better. Few of either stripe liked it.Granted, it is not an easy film to watch. Its not a comedy and its not a road movie though it is zany and it does take place on the road. In fact it is in a category all its own, and for anyone who understands Colin Firth's line "Family just crushes your heart, doesn't it?", it is a deeply moving observation of what it means to be human. I won't say I came away from the movie feeling good, but I did come away feeling less alone.These are the last words spoken in the film, before each of the leading characters returns separately from their wild escapade to shoulder their family responsibilities. We see, and feel, them doing this with no words spoken.Charlotte(Mike) "Good bye, Wallace"Wallace(Arthur) "Don't worry. I know where to find you!"I give it 10 out of 10 Don't miss it.

secondtake Arthur Newman (2012)Though the whole enterprise is built on a huge and somewhat false contrivance (a man taking on a new identity and picking up a troubled woman along the way who also is playing games with her identity), it all works better than you might think. And it's largely because of Colin Firth and Emily Blunt, both strong and understated leads. Blunt in particular has qualities that are interesting without merely being "star" material. Firth, of course, is a mega-star and he's playing his quiet man with familiarity here.The director Dante Ariola is only on his second film and the writer is on his first (after a few screenplays based on other people's stories). And I guess it shows in many little ways, including a script that doesn't seem believable at times. Then at other times it's believable but not that interesting. What keeps it floating through these waves is a sense of pace and ease with the two actors, who of course are seasoned and respected stars.This is both a downer movie with two unhappy leads trying to survive their lives and a feel-good movie about people who find something in each other to survive. It's not quite a romance that develops (it's not "Leaving Las Vegas"), but there is a kind of loving co-dependence. It's meant to be deeper and more moving than it is— mostly a issue of the writing again—but you get the drift and it works overall.In the end, at the end, you wish so much it had been more than it was. It has so many interesting qualities that don't get pulled out—the surprising convergence in the plot, the game of taking on identities, the psychological depth of being who you are and accepting that—I felt let down by what did happen. The solutions are a bit obvious and almost cheap, depending on formulas seen before. Which is too bad because the set-up and the actors are worth more than that.

Steve Pulaski Every now and then actors with sizable names do something in the industry known as "slumming." This is a film with a significantly smaller budget that has well-known actors. This can often give actors range and prove to the public that they are capable of handling roles in smaller movies. Sometimes such an action can pay off. Look at Greg Kinnear in Little Miss Sunshine, Matt Damon in Gerry. Such roles can pay off immensely for actors and show diversity in character acting.And other times the film itself can be completely unnecessary and a very dull slog despite actors' good intentions. So is the case with Collin Firth, who gives a fairly strong performance but can't overcome the offbeat eccentricities and the rather lame fable on the American Dream of starting ones' life over. Material like this sounds good on paper and in our heads, as we can relate this back to the ideology of the American Dream and the pursuit of happiness, but rarely is the matter very compelling on camera. This especially is the case with Fith's Arthur Newman character being very vanilla and, despite unique efforts, rather ordinary.Firth's character's birthname is Wallace Avery, but he feels he was born inhabiting someone else's life. A golf professional, but still unsatisfied with life's offerings, he takes it upon himself to change his identity to that of "Arthur Newman." Soon after this decision is made, Arthur finds a barely-conscious woman outside named Charlotte Fitzgerald (Emily Blunt), traveling under the fictional name "Michaela" or "Mike." Arthur's timely actions of taking the woman to the hospital give her back her consciousness after an apparent overdose. When she comes back, Michaela and Wallace take a liking to each other and decide to embark on an impromptu roadtrip to Indiana, where they can live the more solemn life they've always wanted.Firth and Blunt are both gifted character actors, with Firth winning an Oscar for his beautiful portrayal of King George IV on The King's Speech and Blunt coming off several great comedies last year with the directing likes of Judd Apatow and Lynn Shelton. Their chemistry and breezy dialog exchanges are the faint, weakening glue holding the film together before it crumbles. Arthur Newman's serious problem is its redundant scenes of self-discovery and disregarding ones' personal life for the benefit of having a cleaner, fresher slate. This concept hooks better as just that - a concept that comes up over drinks, dinner, or a nice long walk down the street. Not a ninety-three minute film with the profound qualities of a pamphlet.Now, nearly every idea could make a great film, depending on the way a director, writer, actor, and cinematographer choose to handle the material. I have no doubt that Arthur Newman could've been a terrific film if taken with a fresher, more intriguing direction. The one present here gives every interesting event a "been-there-done-that" quality. Consider the scene when Arthur attempts to save the life of Michaela. This scene should be gripping and terrifying, but it winds up falling completely flat thanks to the flat direction taken by Dante Ariola.Arthur Newman is a wholesome parable at least in the regard that it tells the story with convincing performances and a touch of realism. However, this does not excuse the bland writing and extraordinarily brave premise made turned more into a pedestrian-piece of fiction. Seeing Firth go slumming could definitely be a great thing in the future, but he best choose to slum in places where there is a need for more than a willing actor.Starring: Colin Firth and Emily Blunt. Directed by: Dante Ariola.