After his guardian sends a couple of letters seeking quick help from Philip, the latter finds that Ambrose has died from a head tumor. Being profoundly affected by the tragic event of his most beloved, Philip is determined to confront the widow who's all to blame, in his mind at least. Unbeknownst to him though, fate will take a different course when the two finally meet.It's a story which presents a young and naive Philip who becomes obsessed to revenge the death of his guardian, but ends up in the opposite direction. I was truly surprised and a bit disappointed by how his character went from such hatred which we're presented into the first couple of scenes of the movie to something than can only be described as a radical change in attitude, with little justification. All his revenge and confrontation plans are simply thrown out the window, with no drama or suspense regarding this aspect. Speaking of the characters, the movie insists on the two main ones around which the plot unfolds, but has a little tendency of under-developing others, ultimately cutting from the possible explanations which might shed some light on the mysterious Rachel character. The plot is slow but not boring. It presents what it has to present but it does so in a matter which isn't quite able to keep up a good pace. There are about two key moments which twist the otherwise linear story and that's about it.As far as I'm concerned, this movie can be split into two parts, one good and one bad. The good part is that it generates, in its own way, a mystery which isn't answered even after the end of the movie. It simply leaves you guessing regarding what could have happened, without a true explanation from its part. You can also see this as a bad thing, as the movie could have done a bit more to improve upon this aspect, especially in terms of character development. On the other hand, the bad part is that it manages to do so mostly because of Philip's character, who simply put, doesn't know what is on his mind. His heart seems to have conquered his brain and from there on, everything goes towards consolidating the mystery part.Overall, I was left with mixed feelings about this one. It has a premise which I liked and a good start, but due to certain aspects, it turned into a linear action which does little to produce the much needed drama, suspense, thrill of attachment to characters. You want to find out how it ends, but that also doesn't do much to improve what was before. It remains on a level of mediocrity right after the first twist and it stays there until the end. It could have been a lot better if you ask me, while the finale certainly could have done much more to clarify some things, rather than leaving the audience to decide for itself.

I haven't read the book, but from the little I've been told about it, I think it would be a pretty interesting book, which I'll have to read for myself and forget this boring attempt of an adaptation. The movie was slow and was filled with too many dull and boring conversations. I really commend anyone who had their eyes open throughout the entire movie. I gave this 2, in honour of the potentials this film had.

I gave this movie 2 stars for historical accuracy and scenery. Artistic to me means slow and not to much of a happy ending. I think Hollywood worries we will think they are vapid dancing monkeys if they like the happy endings stuff. This is one of those movies done so they can feel academic and above the fray. They did a great job. I've watched it and now I feel like my life is shorter and possibly not worth it. Maybe I'll go watch The Mummy to put a smile on my face. It may not be artistic but it makes me laugh.

Ugh. I tried watching this while on a plane and just could not care about the movie. Some parts did not make sense to me at all.