Amerikanisches Idyll

Konnte sich Ewan keinen noch schwierigeren Stoff aussuchen? Das Ende des Films weckt Emotionen und manche werden sogar gerührt sein. Aber alles davor ist daneben, leer und nichtssagend. Ewan ist nur emotional sympathisch, seine Schauspielerei reicht für so eine komplizierte Figur nicht aus. Jennifer wechselt die Launen, als ob sie nicht zu einer Figur gehören würden. Die problematische Tochter funktioniert überhaupt nicht. Ein schlecht geführter Film, bei dem die Dramaturgie absolut versagt hat. (30.11.2016)

I was looking forward to a movie about the destruction of the American Dream, but I can't help it, it just didn't work out, and you're left with a fairly empty narrative where the actors tried, but it still wasn't enough. An excellent trio of actors in the lead roles, yet you still feel like it's very dull. Here, the script and set design failed, being incredibly restrained and not wanting to show anything more. (16.03.2017)

American Pastoral is a somewhat peculiar film that could have been very successful but remained somewhere halfway there. The whole time, I was incredibly annoyed by the behavior of the daughter Merry, played by Dakota Fanning. I guess that's why I couldn't really empathize with the story. My emotions got a bit shaken only at the very end. The clear message of the film for me remains that loving one's child unconditionally, no matter how dreadful their actions, does not pay off. It can take us to the very edge of the abyss from which there is no return. (65%) (04.06.2021)