Talking to a friend recently about films she was keen on taking a look at,I got told about an interesting-sounding Costume Drama starring Robert Pattinson.With having recently been impressed by Pattinson's performance in the gritty Post-Apocalypse film The Rover,I decided that it was the perfect time to uncover The History of a Scoundrel.The plot:Paris 1890-Penniless since he left the battle field, soldier Georges Duroy is happy to run into his wealthy old friend Charles Forestier.Sad to see how poor his friend has become,Forestier decides to invite Duroy to stay with him and his wife Mrs. Madeleine Forestier.Taken by Duroy's charms,Madeleine introduces Duroy to her friends Clotilde de Marelle & Virginie Rousset.Learning that Charles now edits a newspaper,Duroy decides to take advantage of Madeleine and her pals attraction to him,as Duroy sets his sights on leaving his penniless life behind.View on the film:Whilst some of the dialogue sounds far too modern for late 1800s Paris, Rachel Bennette's adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's novel,does well at painting a cruel atmosphere,thanks to Bennette showing the desire for power to be the fuel behind all of Georges Duroy's relationships.Taking a slightly anthology style approach to each of Duroy's liaisons, Bennette is disappointingly unable to give the relationships any feeling of depth,due to Bennette giving the characters an outline which is only skin deep,which also causes Duroy's rise to power to feel rather abrupt,and not reaching the dark dramatic notes that the film desires.Transferring from the stage to the cinema, directors Nick Ormerod & Declan Donnellan superbly use deep rich blues to show the riches that Duroy is gathering for himself,which are haunted by a dark charcoal blacks,which are slowly draped over the film,as Duroy discovers the lies behind his riches.Along with the strong blues & blacks,the directors also give the movie an elegant sheen of light greens and yellows,which make the surprisingly graphic sex scenes sparkle.Surrounded by a dazzling array of girls, (all of whom look stunning,esp when naked!) Robert Pattinson (who makes sure that it is not all one-sided,by also appearing naked in the film) gives a very good performance as Georges Duroy,thanks to Pattinson showing Duroy's swagger to be one that hides a fear over returning to the bottom of the ladder.Giving Duroy a major bed/step up to power, Uma Thurman gives a wonderful performance as Madeleine Forestier,with Thurman bringing a dominating sass out of Forestier,as Duroy discovers that he has become a scoundrel of history.

Plot in A Paragraph: Georges Duroy (Robert Pattinson) is a penniless soldier returning from war. He travels to Paris in a search for ways to improve his social and financial status. He uses his wit and powers of seduction to charm many of the wealthy women in the countries capital.Stepping away from playing brooding vampire Edward Cullen in the "Twilight" movies, Robert Pattinson simply plays an extension of that character, and plays a brooding former soldier who only has three expressions. Depressed, brooding and smug. His performance is so similar his character here could simply be Edward Cullen pre him being bitten by a vampire. Of the female cast Uma Thurman is still attractive and owns the screen when she is on it, the often under rated Kristin Scott Thomas is solid support, but it is the delightful Christina Ricci that steals the show as Clotide de Marelle. He is a joy and I'm always impressed when I see her (albeit it not often enough)Of the rest of the cast only Colm Meaney stands out.

The movie is centered in life of a young man in the city of Paris, whose characterization is made by Robert Pattinson. The first half of the story seems to be a little slow paced, and made me wonder if it would ever engage, since apparently there was no interesting character or situation. However, after the first half, it seems that everything starts to work very well, and the film finally involves the audience-- mainly after Mr. Forestier's death. Mostly of that is due to the good acting of Pattinson, who proves to have improved considerably since his inexpressive acting in 2011's "Water for Elephants". Also, directing is something to be appreciate in here; directors are professional in delivering some tense scenes that suggest much of characters' thoughts. The sex scenes feel real, and I like the way characters touch each other before the "act" itself-- you know what I mean. The supporting cast is maybe better than average, and Clotilde's character was professionally played by Christina Ricci. It is indeed interesting to notice how the society was chauvinist; Duroy could sleep with as many women as he wanted to, but once he finds out that Madeleine was also cheating on him, he just freaks out. Even thought society has changed a lot in that aspect since the year this movie is supposed to represent, the situation I just mentioned still happens a lot-- at least where I live. All in all, "Bel Ami" proves to be a decent piece of work that didn't have the attention it deserved, to say the least.

strange film. for expectations of readers and fans of actors. for the science to preserve atmosphere. and the clothes, atmosphere, spirit the spirit of novel are at perfect place. but the film remains only a sketch. a good opportunity for remember the Maupassant work. sure, the cast is impressive and the performance of Robert Pattinson is not bad but , in many moments, the film seems be a run. result - a nice movie. nothing more. is it enough ? I do not know. for me , it is a too American adaptation. but it is not can be a sin. and the meeting with three great actresses is a seductive prize. or the surprise to discover metamorphose of young Pattinson. so, almost a delight.