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Yes (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 83
Fresh: 43
Rotten:40
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Consensus: Emotional performances/ Can't stop the curse/ Of ever-present pretensions/ Writ in heavy-handed verse.
Theatrical Release:Jun 24, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $228,081
Synopsis: Oscar nominee Joan Allen gives a remarkable performance in Sally Potter's YES, an extraordinary look at love and politics set in London, Belfast, Beirut, and Havana. Allen stars as an unnamed... Oscar nominee Joan Allen gives a remarkable performance in Sally Potter's YES, an extraordinary look at love and politics set in London, Belfast, Beirut, and Havana. Allen stars as an unnamed Irish-American scientist disillusioned with her marriage to Anthony (Sam Neill), who is more interested in his political job--and other women. Fed up with his affairs, she falls for an unnamed Arab cook (Simon Abkarian) and begins a torrid sexual relationship with him. A successful molecular biologist, she also puts her life under a microscope, but she is afraid to go after what she really wants. Meanwhile, her lover is much more open about the things he used to have when he was in Lebanon, reduced now to working in a British kitchen in order to barely survive; he comes to resent that she pays for everything in their romance, leading to tension and extreme situations. Writer-director Potter (ORLANDO) shows a sharp eye for the human condition and the fragility of love in this unusual and extraordinary film in which all of the characters speak in iambic pentameter. In addition to mixing in different styles, including slow motion, grainy shots, and freeze frames, Potter has a series of maids, especially the one played by Shirley Henderson, face the camera, reacting to what is going on around them. Henderson often addresses the audience, humorously pointing out that no matter how thorough people are, there is still always a little dirt to be cleaned up. [More]
Starring: Joan Allen, Simon Abkarian, Shirley Henderson, Sam Neill
Starring: Joan Allen, Simon Abkarian, Shirley Henderson, Sam Neill, Sheila Hancock, Samantha Bond, Gary Lewis, Wil Johnson, Raymond Waring
Director: Sally Potter
Director: Sally Potter
Screenwriter: Sally Potter
Producer: Christopher Sheppard, Andrew Fierberg
Composer: Sally Potter
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
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Reviews for Yes
Sally Potter has achieved a work that sings to us -- sensually, angrily, and beautifully.
Has its moments of curious pronouncements about the world that have the ring of poetical truths.
An experimental film that's dissatisfying in its literary pretentions and artistic ambitions to portray characters that are both particular individuals and political symbols
You’ll either be reaching for your barf bag (me) or you’ll be captivated (Oprah book club members with lifetime subscriptions to True Romance magazine).
Despite many interesting mise-en-scene moments, the film disappointingly feels as sterile as the family's immaculately clean house.
Pretentious or artistic? ... a visceral film that is both hypnotic and irritating.
Despite the excellence of [Potter's] film craft and the quality of the performances, the movie’s gimmicky use of language upstages its humanity.
The actors are so committed to Potter's vision, they persuade you to go along with them.
A rich stew of intellectualism and eroticism, sort of like My Dinner With Andre with better sex scenes.
Latest News for Yes
January 04, 2006:
Ebert & Roeper Share Their Favorites from '05
TV's biggest and most (relatively) beloved movie critics, Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, have announced their top ten lists for 2005, and you can either listen to the banter on... More...
March 09, 2005:
TELLURIDE'S MOST buzzed picture was Yes, a stunning epic whose volcanic eruptions cast lurid light on the collision of male and female, Muslim and American. In rhyme! ![]()
More...
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