A silly tale involving an unbelievably young top anti-terror cop, an unrealistic journalist, laughable imaginary letters to Bin Laden and a far-fetched friendship between the mum and the bomber’s son.
Comment
10/24/08
Incendiary (2008)
24
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:5
Rotten:16
Average Rating:3.8/10
Consensus: A solid performance from Michelle Williams isn’t enough to save this well meaning, but disappointing, cliché ridden drama.
Theatrical Release:24-10-2008
Synopsis: Based on a novel released two days before the London bombings, Incendiary is a contemporary portrait of England that deftly interweaves tragedy, sex, politics, and the grief emanating from a... [More]
Starring: Michelle Williams, Ewan McGregor, Matthew MacFadyen
Director: Sharon Maguire, Anand Tucker
Reviews for Incendiary
Were it not for Williams's Oscar-quality performance, all the more remarkable for the shambolic incompetence that surrounds her, this would be a turkey.
10/24/08
It ends up being a compendium of bizarre diversions, most of which are utterly surplus to the film’s half-cocked desire to stick with the experience and emotions of its main character.
10/24/08
Top CriticIt’s only Williams who gives the film any life but, in the face of these odds, even she’s helpless to save it from a one-star rating.
10/24/08
While individual scenes work well, the whole simply defies belief. And, because of this, the final polemic which suggests that London, constantly renewing itself, will never be defeated, simply appears hopelessly sentimental.
10/24/08
A promising opening and a stunning performance from Michelle Williams are not enough to rescue a film that jumps restlessly from genre to genre without doing justice to any of its individual stories.
10/24/08
Top CriticMichelle Williams is a fine and versatile actor but even she has her limits and is never really convincing as a working-class Londoner struggling with guilt and grief.
10/24/08
The movie plunges straight down that treacherous black hole that exists between fact and fiction and the inability to replicate either.
10/24/08
Top CriticA big-hearted, well-intentioned but ultimately overstretched adaptation.
10/24/08
Top CriticBridget Jones’s (Incend)Diary, Maguire is to be commended for attempting a contemporary terrorist drama, but seems more comfortable in the big-knickered North London fantasy world.
10/24/08
After that, cliché piles upon cliché, interspersed with moments of wild unreality and some ill-thought out conspiracy theory. It makes you feel embarrassed for everyone involved.
10/24/08
London is bombed and contrives to be less recognisable than it's ever been on film, full of people who don't look, act or even speak like Londoners.
10/24/08
Top CriticEven more problematic is that the Young Woman's lover (the Ewan McGregor one) works for the Daily Express. None of this is calculated to warm your cockles.
10/23/08
By then, Incendiary has become a tear-stained monologue about bereavement and resilience – it goes off with a bang, but ends with a whimper.
10/24/08
But it maintains its connection with us through Williams' fiercely open-hearted portrayal of a woman losing her grip on her life. And this is just emotional and offbeat enough to make the film worth a look.
10/24/08
It’s an atmospheric drama and a strong turn from Williams, but doesn’t tell us anything about ourselves or the terrorists that we didn’t already know.
10/24/08
Top CriticIf a member of cast could save a film, Michelle Williams would be the person to hire, since her central performance in this muddle of a movie is the only thing that stops it being unwatchable.
07/02/09
a well-made film featuring good actors and which tells an intimate story, but which tries to do too much and collapses under the weight of its own aspirations
05/01/09
Aspires to so much it ends up being less than the sum of its parts.
02/05/08
Top CriticWilliams is magnificent in her role -- though they beat the living hell out of her, to a point where it almost becomes ridiculous.
02/01/08
Latest News for Incendiary
October 24, 2008:
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