Arthur Newman

This is more “Something Mild” than “Something Wild.” But Firth and Blunt handle their characters’ many revelations with care and play with layers of hurt and disappointment with great sympathy and pathos.

Throughout Dante Ariola's film, the expressions of the false-identity theme are multitudinous, and about as subtle as the Colin Firth character's choice for a new last name.

Arthur Newman is an old story and chronically, consistently uninvolving.

Two lost souls on the highway of life — that’s what a well-acted but benign little trifle called Arthur Newman is about.

There’s never a moment when we forget that Mike and Wallace are just vacant personalities that two talented actors decided to try on for fun.

Firth and Blunt make a strange couple, and Ariola a musicvideo helmer making his feature debut, should have devoted more time to making the chemistry work than to sustaining the melancholy mood.

The flat-out dullness of Arthur is the point of Dante Ariola's debut feature, but it's also its undoing.

I did not know about this movie and saw it playing in today. Poignant. A beautiful meditation on the human condition. At first, thought I would hate it but fell into it. Can't stop thinking about it.

Arthur Newman's obviously trying to be a new man! I like this kind of films to watch occasionally. I am not talking about the story, but the type of comedy. Like two unusual characters go on a ride and each one set to rediscover themselves. This one was a bit more than that. It tells the story of a divorced man who is not happy with his life, so decides to fake his death and take up a new identity to live somewhere else. Then he meets a woman who is throwing up her life for nothing. Now these two join hands for an unexpected adventure to an unknown destination. Well, they head towards with an intention, but without the plan to accomplish in a way. Very fun, but not like loudly laughable or even with a little smile. You will get that while you watch it. Both the British actors played the American role, but still with the British accent. They were good, I liked their combo, as well as the characters. The film was enjoyable, but something says it's not all well. It's not the production or the screenplay, or even the directional inexperience. It could be the thematic which was like from pre 60s or 70s. I bet you will remember the title 'Sullivan's Travels' and other similar. Basically, it is not comparable with others, but feels familiar with how everything was developed. So it is not for everyone, but some people might think it is very good. I stand in-between, but I don't know you are one of those, so why not try it and decide yourself. 6/10

Thanks in large to the convincing performances of its leads, and despite the incoherent story elements, this is a good movie about running away to be somebody you're not, and finally growing up.