The Appointment

This was a really written and performed film that featured a number of tells that were in place in effort to quietly clue us in to this story's unseen under-current. I felt that the on screen talent and the pace of the film were as exceptional as this cleverly penned script proved to be.

My Ratings: Story 1.00 : Direction 1.

I did not want to wait another day and not attempt to write a review since seeing 1969's "The Appointment" about four weeks ago. It was director Sidney Lumet's "European" film starring at the height of their cinematic charisma and appeal Omar Sharif (big enough box office due to "Doctor Zhivago" (1965) and Anouk Aimee (a Best Actress nominee in 1965 for "A Man and a Woman").

For every Dog Day Afternoon and Network, Sidney Lumet's filmography contains something more obscure or uncharacteristic - as often as not belonging in the "interesting failure" category, but at least evidencing an appealing curiosity and openness to disparate influences. The Appointment is a prime example - made at a time when Europe's art film giants were at their zenith, set in Rome without a single American actor (although with English dialogue), it feels as if Lumet was almost willing himself to become an Antonioni, although with a more common touch.

I have to admit after reading certain reviews here that I was skeptical about this movie but as a fan of Omar Sharif's work in many seminal 1960's films such as Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia I have to say I wasn't disappointed with this movie in the least.The Appointment is the kind of film that keeps the viewer guessing as to whether Frederico's worse fears about his wife are about to come true and the story of a man who pushes it all to the brink only to realize the truth at the end which he was so certain of.

The Two Gay Geeks saw this film during the Horror Comedy block of films at Horrible Imaginings Film Festival in San Diego. We immediately liked it.

Lindsey Vickers, who scripts and directs this enigmatic film, offers a viewer just enough information to raise questions, at the same time presenting enough plums in the pudding to warrant an alert audience wishing for answers in return, but providentially style triumphs over substance. Vickers constructs an unquestionably suspenseful tale of predestination that revolves about a talented young violinist who manifestly possesses significant preternatural powers, more than sufficient to drastically affect those about her.

The Appointment is a genuinely foreboding supernatural thriller. Intelligently conceived, meticulously paced, it quietly and deftly unravels the disquieting course of events until the astonishing final scene.

"The Appointment" is confusing (the opening scene has nothing to do with the rest of the movie), slow and boring. I watched this movie four times, the first three times I fell asleep.