Anne McElvoy writes in the London Evening Standard-

“An eminent film critic has just told me he thinks some of the best writing is now on the small screen, not the large one, and he may well be right. For all its Spielbergian glory, War Horse has a baggy, pedestrian script and can’t add much to the National’s production. Still, there are signs of intellectual life in the cinema in 2012: the best-written upcoming movie I’ve seen is the riveting romp of Bel Ami, with Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci and Kristin Scott Thomas in Maupassant’s masterpiece.

Again, it succeeds because the original work is both sexy and clever: a plot turning on multifarious adultery, secret plans to invade Morocco and the power of the 1880s press. And, yes, of course we like to watch Uma in a velvet frock-coat, bewitching the arriviste Robert Pattinson as Georges: but we do have to keep half an eye on the machinations of the proprietors and French intentions in Africa to fully enjoy it.”

Like a lot of critics, I’ve done my share of moaning about dumbing down. So credit where it is due: this looks rather like the year of dumbing up. Sex on screen is cheering. Sex and sensibility’s even better.

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