Hemingway and Gellhorn (2012)

Directed by: Philip Kaufman
Starring: Clive Owen, Nicole Kidman, David Straithairn

Overall Rating: 64.8

"Hemingway and Gellhorn" is a TV Movie by HBO Films, centering around the lives of Ernest Hemingway and his muse-turned-wife Martha Gellhorn.  The story picks up during WWI as the two writers meet and fall in love, and continues through WWII and Hemingway's completion of "For Whom the Bell Tolls".

Nicole Kidman (Gellhorn) and Clive Owen (Hemingway) each play their larger than life characters to a certain standard, but it's Kidman who steals the show as the strong-willed Gellhorn.

Visually, the movie cuts in and out of actual war footage, with simulated 30's-40's era camera stunts, or just superposes current actors into old war footage using a green screen.  When this first occurs as Tony Shaloub is superimposed into old WWI footage, it looks just awful and you hope that's the last of it, but Director Philip Kaufman continues to implement the same strategy and everytime I cringe.

Overall, as someone who previously wasn't aware of the couple's personal lives, the film did provide some insight in to the lives of the writers.  However, it's just not enough to warrant a higher rating.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 6
Dialogue: 8
Acting: 7
Direction: 7
Audio/Visual: 5