Oh, do you like my coat? I got it in Pleasantville.

Okay, so I’m awkwardly going back to the Best Picture Reviews with one of the most revered Best Picture winners, 1993’s Schindler’s List. Now Spielberg was on a roll back in 1993. Not only did he win Best Director for this film, but the very same year he directed what was the highest grossing film at that time, Jurassic Park – Great, now I’m fantasizing about what this movie would have been like if it had dinosaurs in it.

Now I’m going to be completely honest with you – At first, I was not terribly happy with this film. I thought it was dull and it was really harping on what I would call ‘misery porn’. When I was just watching the first half of the film, I predicted that it would end up being 3 1/2 stars. But the second half of the movie bumped it up for me, making it a 4 1/2 star film.

In my opinion, the film redeems itself in the final act and has a very powerful ending. While watching the second half, you feel the urge to take back what I felt about the first half. The film also makes use of some great cinematography and production design, and of course, the haunting score. And Steven Spielberg’s direction is absolutely wonderful.

Liam Neeson’s performance really surprised me. He has this one really great scene near the end that really impressed me. It’s a shame he doesn’t do anything but action movies nowadays, because he has some serious acting chops. And there are also some nice supporting turns by Ralph Fiennes & Ben Kingsley

By and large, While I don’t think it’s perfect, I get a feeling that it’ll stick with me. Maybe I’m not completely in love with it like many people are, but I do think it’s really good, and it could very well grow on me over time.

****1/2