User reviews

Arthur Newman (Colin Firth) is trying to live a new life. He was formerly a struggling golf pro and shipping manager with a nice-looking girlfriend (Anne Heche). But, things were not going well. He was also estranged from his almost-a-teen son. So, since he lives near Jacksonville Florida, he fakes his own death by drowning and takes off. Newman, a fake name for his newly acquired life, is on his way to Terre Haute Indiana to become a posh country club golf pro, with made-up credentials, for the most part. But, on the long journey, he stumbles upon a lady, Mike, er, Michaela, (Emily Blunt) who may be suffering more than he is. She is drunk and Arthur views her being taken to jail by the police. Giving a made up story, Arthur springs her from jail and stays with her until she is sober again. Tentatively, they strike up a friendship, as Mr. Newman learns that Mike may not be her REAL name, either. In any case, Mike agrees to go to Indiana with this handsome man. Along the way, they strangely break into houses that are temporarily empty, try on clothes, take pictures and pretend even more. But, as Arthur soon learns, Mike does have some truly intense baggage in her past. Will they succeed in forging new lives without consequences? This somber, touching film is dead serious most of the time. Oh, the scenes from the dress-up days have humor and there are occasionally funny lines. But, mostly, this movie deals with very complex issues and is not really a light-hearted flick. Naturally, Firth and Blunt, excellent thespians both, do fine work and look great together. Also wonderful is the changing scenery, the supporting cast, and the courage to tackle the anything-but-fairy-tale life of its two main characters. No, its not a movie to watch when you, the viewer, have some sobering problems in your own life. But, fans of these two British thespians will want to try this one, too.

This road movie, featuring solid performances from its main players, doesn't seem to know where it's going. While "Arthur Newman" presents many quirky or compelling tableaux, I was rather frustrated by the filmmaker's (Dante Ariola) detours and dead ends. Or perhaps it was writer Becky Johnston's tepid story that ran out of fuel.

Frankly, I didn't care one way or another if the main characters ever resolved their respective conflicts, and after the first thirty minutes I felt like I was simply watching the same scene over and over again, like an endless roundabout. I was so uninvolved in the relationship(s) that it felt like nothing of any real substance was truly at stake or on the line.

I watched Arthur Newman simply because I found it by accident. While it's not the best film I've seen, I do believe everyone did a credible job with very little material. Colin Firth and Emily Blunt are good, doing the best they could with the somewhat underdeveloped characters. However, I feel the characters are presented as such on purpose, to make of them what we personally will.

The film moves slowly, but is in no way boring. An experienced film buff would be fine with its pace and be relatively engaged in the story line as well.

Arthur Newman is not for a generic audience. It requires a specific taste in films to be enjoyed for what it is - a thought-provoking story

Arthur Newman (2012)

Though the whole enterprise is built on a huge and somewhat false contrivance (a man taking on a new identity and picking up a troubled woman along the way who also is playing games with her identity), it all works better than you might think. And it's largely because of Colin Firth and Emily Blunt, both strong and understated leads. Blunt in particular has qualities that are interesting without merely being "star" material. Firth, of course, is a mega-star and he's playing his quiet man with familiarity here.

The director Dante Ariola is only on his second film and the writer is on his first (after a few screenplays based on other people's stories). And I guess it shows in many little ways, including a script that doesn't seem believable at times. Then at other times it's believable but not that interesting. What keeps it floating through these waves is a sense of pace and ease with the two actors, who of course are seasoned and respected stars.

This is both a downer movie with two unhappy leads trying to survive their lives and a feel-good movie about people who find something in each other to survive. It's not quite a romance that develops (it's not "Leaving Las Vegas"), but there is a kind of loving co-dependence. It's meant to be deeper and more moving than it is— mostly a issue of the writing again—but you get the drift and it works overall.

In the end, at the end, you wish so much it had been more than it was. It has so many interesting qualities that don't get pulled out—the surprising convergence in the plot, the game of taking on identities, the psychological depth of being who you are and accepting that—I felt let down by what did happen. The solutions are a bit obvious and almost cheap, depending on formulas seen before. Which is too bad because the set-up and the actors are worth more than that.

I guess I can see why Colin Firth would be attracted to the role of a depressed American, but really, the script wasn't up to his level.

Firth and Emily Blunt star in "Arthur Newman," a 2012 film directed by Dante Ariola. Wallace Avery (Firth) is unhappy at his job as a floor manager. He's divorced, has a girlfriend (Anne Heche), and a young son who hates him. An excellent golfer, he didn't make it as a pro because of nerves. However, he helped a man with his slice, and as a result, has been offered the job of golf pro at a club in Terre Haute, Indiana. He fakes his death and takes off.

Along the way, he helps a young woman (Blunt) by taking her to the hospital. When she's better, she goes with him. Eventually, they become lovers. He finds out she's using a fake identity as well, running from a twin sister who is schizophrenic and may need her.

The two of them start to break into people's houses and take on their identities and make love in their beds.

This is a pretty boring, slow movie enlivened by the performances of the two leads. Along the way we learn something about the characters, but not enough to become truly invested in them. We just know they're miserable. We know Wallace's son hates him because he wasn't there for him, but we don't know why or what went on between them, or what happened with his ex-wife, and why his girlfriend is discontented.

It's sad because this could have been an amazing movie. It's about two people that learn what they love about each other and their value to those left behind. But it doesn't go into these facets deeply enough.

Both Firth and Blunt are excellent, trying to flesh out what's there. In the end, I was sympathetic to the characters but not really involved with them. It was sort of like giving street directions to two strangers and then wishing them luck.

"Sure, Mr. Total Stranger, you can carry me off to the hospital even though I'm not sick or injured and I have no idea who you are. Hey, let's hang out in bed together even though I don't know you and you're 20 years older than I am."

Who read this script and thought it was worth putting millions of dollars into?

"So you just ditched Wallace Avery for a total strangers half baked promise?" Wallace Avery (Firth) is a divorced man who hates his job and his life. Wanting to start fresh he decides to stage his own death and head to Indiana to become a golf teacher. Changing his name to Arthur Newman he is on his way when he meets a woman named Mike (Blunt). Both on the run from their own lives the begin to assume other people's identities but memories of their old lives begin to creep back up. This movie first and foremost has great acting and is very interesting and worth watching. On the other hand though it is a little slow in parts and seems repetitive. This is a movie of fiction but has the feel of a true story. I do recommend this movie but it isn't really a movie you can watch over and over because it is pretty depressing. It's hard to talk about this movie with out giving anything away and it really is a pretty good movie but don't expect a happy movie. Overall, a good movie with great acting that is worth watching but be prepared. I give it a B.

Review: I found this storyline to be weak and a bit silly. If your going to fake your own death, surely your going to change the way you look and try and keep undercover. Anyway, the director really didn't think the whole storyline through and the acting, from these 2 A-listers, wasn't that terrific. The way that Colin Firth's character thoroughly planned his own death to become a golf pro, ditching his son in the process, was a recipe for disaster right from the beginning and when Blunts character was added to the mix, it just made things worse. The love story was predictable and the ending was very sketchy. Basically the director left it up to the audience to make up there own mind about Firth's character returning to reality, which could have been written much better. Anyway, I did loose interest halfway through the movie and I struggled to keep my eyes open. Disappointing! 

Round-Up: Colin Firth's career really does have it's up and downs. After winning the Oscar for The King's Speech, which he did deserve, and starring in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, he hasn't really starred in any major roles. With the release of Before I Go To Sleep coming out soon, maybe this will bring him back to the limelight. Emily Blunt seems to act the same in all of her movies, but she has been cast in some big budget blockbusters. From The Devil Wears Prada to the Edge Of Tomorrow, I doubt that this low budget movie will damage her career. As the movie is based around these 2 characters, there isn't that much to say about the rest of the cast, but I was expecting something better from these 2 major stars. 

Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $208,000 (Terrible!)

I recommend this movie to people who are into there dramas about a man faking his own death to work in a gold club. 3/10

This film tells the story of a failed professional golfer, who abandons his life and family to assume an alternate identity in order to start a new life.

The premise of the story could have been very interesting, as the title character faces a midlife crisis. It is a situation that quite a few people can identify with, and hence it could have been an engaging story. However, things go wrong because the film takes a ridiculous turn. A kleptomaniac drug addict comes a long and they have sex in other people's houses. Just what is the point of the story? It is not even entertaining or engaging. The only thing that impressed me was Emily Blunt's ability to mimic various accents. Other than that, "Arthur Newman" is quite a disappointing film.

This is a fun couple, even if what they do isn't always quite legal. In fact, the more illegal, the more fun their adventures are.

Emily Blunt does an amazing job here. Mike goes through so many changes, starting out as goth and insane when we first meet her, then pretty but somewhat unbalanced, then quite likable. She does impressions of the people she pretends to be, and does them so well. Sometimes she can be normal, and sometimes she is going off the deep end. And then there are the really sad moments. And she looks good in her underwear.

Colin Firth is a different matter. I couldn't imagine Arthur being someone I would actually like, and yet eventually he comes across as the voice of reason and basically carries the movie, while his wacky "girlfriend" provides comic relief or shows a vulnerable side. When he is needed Arthur is very helpful, and eventually he doesn't seem like the loser Wallace was, but is quite convincing as if he is established in a career and confident of who he is.

Anne Heche does okay and is somewhat likable. What I like best about her was her beautiful long hair. When I first learned who she was she had very short hair.

Lukas Hedges is likable enough as the son, but he doesn't seem all that concerned about his father, and if anything, he seems inappropriately close to Wallace's girlfriend. Not enough is done to develop his character and we don't even hear much from the boy's family.

We see a lot of nice scenery on this road trip, and I don't know where it all is, but North Carolina was mentioned a lot in the credits, and that's where I live. One sign on the interstate was obviously on I-95 because it showed towns I knew about, though I've never been on that stretch of highway. There was a great looking bridge at the beach which didn't get nearly enough screen time, and we didn't really get a good look at it.

Eventually, important lessons are learned, and maybe we have a happy ending. I don't think it's quite what I was hoping for but it satisfies.

Overall, I had a pretty good time.

Arthur Newman is not so much a failure as a story as it is a failure as a movie. Quirky and extreme as the characters may be, they do face the human problem of opting for stasis or change. Both choices require a kind of courage. Both choices are usually entered into or denied existence without full comprehension of their actually being choices. Terre Haute, the destination/objective that fails to reinvent, wash away, the memories and humanity of the main characters in this movie might stand for anything that brings relief to the living from life. The sex games played in the movie are a drug, a temporary respite, an aside to what is important in this story of choices faced. It is also why this movie fails as the art piece it aspires to be. But the failure is only a nod, a compromise to the commercial requirements of the film industry. So what's new.

QUESTION: Can anyone tell me the ties this film has to the work of Richard Brautigan? Brautigan is mentioned deep and fleetingly in the credits.

Who doesn't appreciate a good escapist film, a story of people trying to leave the past behind, and become someone new, with blank slates, and unwritten futures? That's "the good" here, a film that people can potentially relate to, something many of us have probably thought about in our past. "What if we?" The "good" is also the two leads Colin Firth, and Emily Blunt, wonderful actors in general, just not so much here.

"The bad" includes the odd casting of these two talented Brits in a very American "Florida to Indiana road trip" movie, and the fact that they lacked the chemistry together needed to pull this off. Even so, I bought into it, all the way to Terre Haute, where dreams were dashed, and the movie took an undesirable turn. I almost wish things had gone differently there, for our unusual couple and for the film. It might have been more fun to see them accepted in their new endeavor, and seen what kind of sordid mischief they would get into next. Sadly, that's not where this went, and instead we got a lifeless ending that left me feeling like a kid who had been dragged along on a lengthy trip with no ice cream treat at the end.

And, "the bogey." A golf term for "slightly worse than par," which is what this movie is. It needed an epic approach on the 18th hole, and instead we got a three putt bogey, an unsatisfying finish, and nothing but polite applause from the gallery. Too bad. With different actors and a different Act III, this might have worked.

"Arthur Newman" is the new name taken by down-in-the-dumps guy Wallace Avery, who was divorced, estranged from his son and trapped in a dead-end job. He faked his own death and created for himself this fictitious persona, hoping to recapture his spark for life as a golf pro somewhere in middle America.

Along his way, he meets another depressed soul in the person of a quirky young woman named Mike. They hook up, and drive aimlessly around. They stalk couples who go on vacation, break in and live in their abandoned houses. Until one day comes, and they realize the uselessness of what they were doing.

It is sad for me to write that a movie starring very talented and likable stars like Colin Firth and Emily Blunt had actually been a dreadful bore. The characters these two play have absolutely nothing good nor charming in them for the audience to root for, or even simply to like. There is nothing to care about them.

Overall, this movie is an insipid waste of time. This film will be forgotten immediately after you have seen it. The combination of Firth and Blunt may have sounded exciting on paper. However, no amount of talent or charisma of these two stars can save the bleakness and wretchedness of the script.

The film was disappointing and Emily started to get really boring, as the bad girl. I guess this was an escapade for both of the characters and at the end they finally matured a bit. Thankfully, since they were too old for such silliness. So, I guess they benefited from their adventures. But, I didn't. I expected a comedy and got this depressing wet rag of a film instead. I still gave it a 6 because they both did play the roles they were given well, especially Colin, in an unassuming manner. I do wonder why they agreed to this mess.

I like both Colin Firth and Emily blunt so I was very disappointed in the movie. Colin Firth was appropriately boring and Emily Blunt did a very good job in her role. But the movie in its entire ready was a yawn. Plot wa thin, pace was off and the two leads didn't have chemistry, so bad casting

Colin firth is arthur, trying to start over, hoping for a better life. Staying at a local motel, he bumps into michaela (emily blunt), who is also having a rough night. Clearly, neither one is happy with their current life, so they join up and hit the road. Not a lot happens in the first half of the film. They slowly warm up to each other, and start doing risky things in strangers' houses. Where will they end up? How do you know when to start over, or when to go back? When you run away, do you just find a different set of problems, or will things be better? It's a thinker film. Ain't no car chases here! But it's interesting to watch. Co-stars ann heche, lucas hedges. Directed by dante ariola. Story by becky johnston. She wrote the screenplays for some pretty big films!

"Arthur Newman" has two promising threads - how a man can disappear and take on a new identity, and how quirky can the behaviour of a borderline crazy young woman be? In the course of the film the first, potentially interesting theme is derailed by the second. In his flight from his boring and disappointing old life, the hero takes up with the stray girl who involves him with assorted wacky escapades. Unfortunately as none of the latter is particularly interesting, the film ends with nothing of substance except sentimentality. It's awfully slow, and moments of interest are too few. Regrettably Colin Firth is all too good at depicting boring average men, which stands in the way of audience engagement. Emily Blunt doesn't invoke too much sympathy either, as it's hard to see any attractive qualities in her character beyond looks. So the film, as indeed the story in it, seems much ado about nothing. It's same-y and featureless, like the successive motel rooms they inhabit. Somehow it needs a wit and charisma transplant, but maybe I just feel that because I dislike sentimentality!

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

I'm not sure who wrote the script but it was not particularly well written or structured. I'm not quite sure what the director saw in it! Possibly lots of potential but it didn't come through. Two good actors with a lousy script, they had no hope of a successful film.