Bel Ami

4/5

Bel Ami is based on a novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, of the same title, published in 1885. It was set in Victorian era Paris.

I actually just found this randomly, and decided to watch the movie because of Uma Thurman, Cristina Ricci and Robert Pattinson. I mean I admit I like Rob Patz, just not as Edward in the Twilight Saga.

So anyways, the other reason why I watched this was because of the 19th Century setting; I just love the horse-drawn carriages and the bulging tight-fitting dresses. :p

So I really didn’t know what this story was about, until I finished watching it. I wasn’t able to read the novel (which I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to find anywhere) so I couldn’t compare the two, but movie-based, it was good.

The story chronicles journalist Georges Duroy’s corrupt rise to power from a poor ex-NCO to one of the most successful men in Paris, most of which he achieves by manipulating a series of powerful, intelligent, and wealthy mistresses. (Wikipedia)

At first, it looked just like a typical seductive movie, where a really good looking guy seduces a married woman, but as the story went on, it grew deeper, and I came to understand what must be the reason why one would do such a thing.

It tells a story not only about love, but loyalty, and honesty as well as being able to have a choice between staying dignified but poor, or becoming rich but corrupt. It cannot be that far from what happens in real life, when most of the people believe that money is the only thing that could make their world go round; that they have no other option but to resort to climb the unethical ladder, just to reach the top.

The movie was good, considering I couldn’t compare it with the book. The actors were also superb indeed, from Thurman, to Ricci, and especially Pattinson.

This is one of those times when you’ll be able to see Rob in a whole new light, apart from a sparkly vampire in the Twilight Saga, and the dead champion in the Harry Potter series. Indeed, I realized that Rob’s acting has been so underrated in the past years, thanks to the fact that he starred as Edward Cullen, the vampire that everybody loves to hate. In this movie, I found out what an amazing actor he is, that he deserves more than what he is getting now. :)

And oh, a fun fact: I tried Google Translating the title, Bel Ami, and surprisingly, there was none, so I searched it on the web, and found out that it meant, “A beautiful friend” however, the reason it wasn’t in the Google Language Tools was because it was an obsolete French word, used only in the 19th century. :)