Tulip Fever - They don't make movies like this anymore

The best experience you can have at the movies, especially when you're as well versed in the movie landscape as I am, is when a movie can legitimately surprise you. The theory of a film critic becoming jaded and bitter because they've seen hundreds of movies and don't get surprised anymore has a hint of truth behind it, but it's not as severe as most other critics would have you believe. At least not in my opinion. See, I grew up around movies. My parents took me to the movies all the time, I went to the movies a lot with my friends, and I still go to the movies at least once a week with my mom. Yet, despite the countless hours I have spent in the theaters, I don't feel like I've seen everything, because I haven't. There will always be something new that comes out to remind you why you love movies, why you love making movies, and especially why you love talking about them. "Tulip Fever" is, without a doubt, exactly that kind of movie.

The film takes place in Amsterdam around the 1600's. During which time, the Tulip trade was skyrocketing, and many people were putting all of their fortunes in buying, selling, and trading Tulip bulbs. The main story follows a young girl named Sophia, played by Alicia Vikander, who is an orphan married to a rich spice dealer named Cornelis, played by Christoph Waltz. Cornelis's expectations of his new wife is for her to secure him a male heir. However, Sophia has not been able to get pregnant. Not only that, but she is also truly in love with an artist named Jan Van Loos, played surprisingly well by Dane DeHaan, (more on him in a moment). Also, by pure happenstance, Sophia's maid named Maria, played by Holliday Grainger, has recently become pregnant and her boyfriend has mysteriously vanished. Sophia, unhappy with her place and seeking a means of escape to be with her true love, devises a cunning plan.

To say anything else about the story would constitute spoilers, which I cannot give, because the less you know about the story, the better of an experience it will be.

Said story is wonderful. Not at all surprising since the screenplay comes to us in part from Tom Stoppard. The quick witted playwright and talented screenwriter of equally charming films such as "Shakespeare in Love" and "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead", not to mention the cult classic "Brazil". This film has a terrific flow, all of the characters are likable, and even when some of them do things that are normally frowned upon, they managed to find a way to be forgiven and, in their own way, redeem themselves. It is a tale about passion, power, romance, riches, family, and above all, love. Not just romantic love, but the many different shapes that love can take.

The acting is superb. The entire cast appears to have remarkable working chemistry which makes the proceedings more believable and interesting, not to mention entertaining. As I said earlier, there is even a great performance from Dane DeHaan. Previously this man was in "Valerian and the city of A Thousand Planets", which was a cool film, but was severely lacking in the acting quality from the two leads. However, he manages to showcase some true talent in this film. Oh, I almost forgot to mention.  Cara Delevingne, the other lead character from "Valerian", she is also in this movie, and she's actually good. Granted, she has a very small role that only has at least five minutes of screen time, but for all of those five minutes, I didn't even know it was her until towards the end. She actually had conviction and was playing a character. I was surprised and impressed with the both of them.

The cinematography also deserves a mention. Without going into too much detail, I found it to be beautiful and appropriate. It incorporated a natural lighting style which I love. My only nitpick with it was the occasionally overly aggressive shaky-cam here and there. Fortunately, those shots are few and far in between.

What especially impressed me about this film was that it didn't really have a villain. All of the characters were basically good people, but they all had flaws and conflicts. With themselves, with others, and with their positions in society. This is a further example of my firm belief in the idea that a good story does not need a villain to be compelling, so long as there is conflict.

This is one of those rare kind of films that don't grace the silver screen as often as they really should. It has a great pace, the characters are three dimensional and likable, the writing is clever, the story is interesting, and all of it's parts just manage to fit perfectly well. Please do yourself a favor and go see this movie right now. It is worth every cent of your box office cash.

Ladies & Gentleman, I am TheNorm, telling you when Hollywood gets things wrong, and when they get things right. Thank you for reading.