I lost count of how many times Tulip Fever’s release has been pushed back. It was originally filmed in the summer of 2014, before Alicia Vikander stormed the Oscars with The Danish Girl. It’s a film from The Weinstein Company, makers of overwrought-yet-sexy costume dramas. It was supposed to be a slam-dunk, a costume drama about flowers and sexy secrets, starring some “hot” new talent like Vikander, Dane DeHaan, Cressida Bonas, Cara Delevingne, etc. None of that came to pass. The film probably should have been released in 2015, but I always wondered why TWC didn’t just release the film in the wake of Vikander’s Oscar win – they could have done it quietly, but the film would have gotten a boost from her Oscar campaign. I guess not. Anyway, the film is finally coming out this weekend in 600 locations (a limited release). There are no major nationwide releases for this Labor Day weekend, so maybe Tulip Fever will get a boost from that.
I’ve been reading some reviews, and critics seem to agree: Tulip Fever is terrible. This one review says it plainly: this “has all the clear markings of a Weinstein ‘salvage’ job.” There’s an overzealous narration, too many jumpy cuts, roles that seemed left on the cutting room floor, etc. Tulip Fever is a “broken mess” and it “feels straight-up butchered.”
Can I also blame Alicia Vikander a little bit for this mess too? While critics aren’t saying that Vikander sucks in Tulip Fever (they’re just saying the movie is terrible), I just feel like… we’ve been here before. The release date for The Light Between Oceans kept getting pushed back too, and it felt like a case of “the emperor’s new clothes” where no one really wants to admit that Vikander in particular really can’t carry a film and that she’s not really a “draw” as an actress. Hollywood is really trying to make her happen and everybody’s pushing this narrative that she’s just so incredibly talented and amazing and… are people really buying it? I guess some people are. But it will definitely be interesting to see what happens with Lara Croft, right?
Also: even though Alicia covered one of the September issues, she has done no promotion for this film ahead of this weekend’s release. She has one new interview out this week – and it doesn’t even mention the movie!!
Photos courtesy of IMDB.
I know she’s a thoroughbred and all, but she doesn’t do it for me. Shes got the blandness of Brie Larson, but without Brie’s purposeful intent to remain out of the spotlight except when acting.
brie larson isn’t bland at all, imo. in fact, she’s outspoken and always sounds very interesting. being reserved and being bland are 2 completely different things.
Yeah i didnt say it the best, Brie is like this on purpose, whereas I don’t think there’s anything more with Alicia.
I do think there’s something “bland” about Larson. She is wildly talented and brilliant in everything I’ve seen her do, but she’s just one of those actors who vanishes into the role. It’s not the Brie show. I do not feel the same about Vikander at all – she’s just boring.
Yes exactly. If I came off as dismissive of Brie, its because I used poor wording. She tries to be out of the spotlight when not acting on purpose. The more of a blank canvas she can be outside of acting, the better she is in her roles. She’s talked about it in interviews before. She’s blank on purpose because it serves her craft. Alicia is just …blank. I did really like her in Ex Machina though.
The fact that this thread starts with a convo about a different actress says a lot about Vikander’s appeal.
The drabness is Hillary Swank syndrome.
Larson IS bland. She’s got talent but without the right role can be a bore to watch.
I was going to say Alicia Vikander reminds me of Emilia Clarke, people really want to make her happen but there’s nothing there. Brie Larson is also boring, but I think she’s *trying* to be boring, so I give her a pass (earlier interviews/appearances by Larson suggest a lot more personality, but as her star has risen, she’s backed away from being too “on” in public).
Brie Larson gets a lifetime pass from me because she was so amazing in Room. Whereas I have enjoyed some Vikander performances (well, really just Testament of Youth) but she inspires an eye-roll from me and I don’t quite know why.
She is talented, has beautiful features and is quite striking on screen but something is missing. Not everyone has star quality. Stars can be bad actors but they sell tickets because they have a certain charisma. I think she is a talented actor but lacks the X factor to become a star. So what, you can be an accomplished actor without being crazy popular. Look at Paul Dano or other actors that are around for so long, you don’t really hear about them on a daily basis but they definitely have their respected place. She should aim for that instead of desperately trying to become something she’s not.
She was, besides the clothes, the only interesting thing about The Man from UNCLE, and she wasn’t very interesting at that.
She’s only good on certain movies. Really the only thing I loved her in was Deux which I’ve always believed should’ve been her Oscar win. She’s limited in the things she can do but so far she doesn’t have the It girl range of Brie Larson
I will go see the movie because of Judi Dench. She is amazing to watch
To be fair to the creators, it must be hard to finish a movie when the lead is as interesting as watching paint dry. She gets a lot of attention at least here for her relationship with Michael Fassbender and that somehow works to her advantage because we forget what a blant acctress she. From a few talk show appearances I saw she seems like a nice person and maybe even fun, but she is someone who lacks movie star charisma and allure
She seems terrible in the previews.
The movie was finished THREE years ago. Vikander is hardly a problem lol
Isn’t she the one with the terrible drug problem that keeps slowing down movie production schedules?
Waltz is interesting in everything he does. Something tells me the movie would be more interesting if he and not the typical pretty young thing romance angle had been the focus.
Yes!
From the trailer it appears she did not marry him willinglyrics and he treats her like property.
I watched Danish Girl recently. It was the first film of hers I have seen and she did not impress me. She was not bad but I don’t see any star quality and it was not great performance. I think a lot of critics love what they call subtlety but for genera audiences is blandness.
I thought she was fantastic in Danish Girl.
There seem to be indications Weinstein is having financial issues (lay-offs, etc.), but this constant push/pull can only add more expense. So weird.
I realized how insane this all was when they pushed the release by one week at the last minute to release that red band trailer of almost nothing but sex scenes. The message was basically, hey you know this sucks but you get to see her boobs! Buy a ticket…boobs! Yikes. That is seriously pathetic Harvey.
Oh and can we now stop casting Dane DeHaan in leading man roles and let him go back to solid-to-great character work? Please?
Dane is really a background, secondary lead actor. I love him but he registers better on the small screen. He is very charismatic but he looks like a schoolboy. He is like Jim Sturgess and in some way, James Macavoy.
James McAvoy used to look young but he can still carry a movie. He could at his baby-faciest.
“Can I also blame Alicia Vikander a little bit for this mess too? While critics aren’t saying that Vikander sucks in Tulip Fever (they’re just saying the movie is terrible), I just feel like… we’ve been here before. […] Hollywood is really trying to make her happen and everybody’s pushing this narrative that she’s just so incredibly talented and amazing and… are people really buying it? I gues s some people are.
THIS!! OMG THIS!! This is the reason I don’t like her. I couldn’t care less about her relationship with Fassbender (even though her fans immediately assume that you’re a crazy fangirl of his if you say something against her) I just don’t get why she is famous. For a while she was everywhere, still is, like I opened a magazine at the hairdressers today and BLAM, there she is in the Louis Vuitton ad, and for me there’s no reason why. I saw her in a few things and except for Ex Machina, where she played a robot, I only saw a pretty but dead-eyed face who struggles with accents and speaks with a “sultry” voice all.the.time. Then they tried to push her as this fashion icon but she was constantly styled in a way that veered from bad to creepy. And I’m sitting there, completely befuddled by how some people praise her like the new coming of poise and talent or something. To be fair, I’m befuddled by the vitriol thrown against her too, it’s so dumb and I wish she would just fade away from the spotlight.
The end of Weinstein? *fingers crossed* He comes across as very creepy and sleazy.
O’Connell would have been better i think, he can carry a lead. Shame to put him next to delevingne
I’m going to see it for Dane Dehaan. I love his face. Sure, he was a disappointment in Valerian but I don’t care. And how many times do we have to see Cara DeLevigne in big productions? Of all the nepotism actresses, she is the weakest. Lily Collins and Lily Rose Depp have grown on me and Suki Waterhouse has shown some acting ability. Cara cannot transform into her character. All I see is Cara.
She isn’t an awful actress, but she certainly isn’t a powerhouse nor does she have THE star quality needed to bring films a decent draw.
Figured something was up. The director of this was scheduled for a DGA screening plus Q & A but suddenly it got pulled which was strange so it’s no telling what Weinstein did regarding this film.
It’s interesting that Alicia was everywhere in films not too long ago, but none of those really caught fire in terms of popularity. Sure she won her awards, and I did think she was good in that film, but nothing else has really has sparked.
For me, Dane DeHaan is the problem. He has zero appeal to me. Really bland and I can’t picture anyone having a torrid affair with him. Even the commercial annoys me.
I will never get over this one and that other bland one taking Carol’s awards. 👎
Did they even make this available for critics to review? Boston Globe has no review of it in today’s paper and it is playing here. No score on Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic. When they hold back a film from reviewers, it is a sign that it is really bad.
The review embargo lifts today at 1 pm (not sure which time zone).
Isn’t the former Prince Harry girlfriend, Cressida Bonas, in this as well? I thought she was…
But her Mom’s friend loved the film you guys!!!!
Quote from Fat Satan
“Alicia Vikander also reached out to tell me that her mom’s friend gave her a rare call just to tell her how much she enjoyed it.”
Really?!?!?
I kind of want to see it for the shit show!
http://deadline.com/2017/08/harvey-weinstein-on-the-challenge-of-growing-tulip-fever-guest-column-1202158947/
Lol. I’m sure someone will say it’s her dry humour, but geez.
Geez took it long enough. I think they didn’t release it in 2015 because she had a lot of movies coming out, if this and TLBO had come out it would have been 5 movies. They pulled it a week and a half before release last year and it was supposed to come out a week before the Oscars this year. TWC is supposedly having financial trouble, so I think that and the lack of audience appeal isn’t helping. Personally I don’t see this amazing talent people keep trying to push and I agree with the others on here that she doesn’t have “IT!”
It’s a shame because the tulip investment craze and crash was a fascinating episode with lessons for today.
I used to get her and Brie Larson confused, but now I’ve seen them both in movies and I’m not impressed with either of their talent. Brie was awful in Skull Island. It really bothered me how her hair was so perfect half that movie when in reality it would have been wet and flat as soon as they went through that first scene with the ape, but whatever.
Anyway, I saw Alicia in Ex Machina and she was good as an AI, but that was largely due to her physical attributes and I mean how hard is it to act like a robot? I still loved that movie though.
Apparently it’s an easy performance. But it’s not. Vikander gave a wonderfully subtle and nuanced performance. I dln’t see many actresses pulling it off.
i thought alicia was amazing in ex machina, but this movie looks just plain bad. sometimes good actors pick bad projects, and sometimes some actors shine in certain roles and not in others. for instance, i always thought keira knightley was wonderful in pride & prejudice, but i’ve yet to see her stand out in any other film.
I like Alicia, she was really good in the Danish Girl, made a good Kitty in Anna Karenina unlike Keira Knightley’s less than adequate Anna. Also, she was very good in The Royal Affair. Having said that I think she is very similar to Keira by which I mean you kind of expect both of them to really nail it in the next film. I keep on expecting more of both of them but it somehow never materialises probably because we already have seen them at their very best, and there is nowhere deeper to dig. Keira in particular plays Keira Knightley in each and every film, and am afraid Alicia is doing the very same thing. The same applies to Helena Bonham Carter up and until Fight Club I think, which finally showed what an absolutely brilliant actress she really is and has been ever since. Not sure if Alicia (or Keira) will be able to do the same.
I loved Alicia as Kitty in Anna Karenina. I think she was so good and so beautiful – the MVP of the movie. I wish she’d go blonde again, her look in that film really made her beauty come alive.
Yes, she was really good. I actually thought she was a natural blonde when watching the film, and only later discovered that she is not.
She was blond in that movie? Looked more like a light brunette to me but then again the lighting was so weird in that movie.
I’ll watch it at some point, for the costumes and the scenery.
I don’t hate Vikander… I just feel like she’s George Michael’s girlfriend in Arrested Development. There’s just nothing about her acting that makes her compelling to watch. She also looks like a little girl in period costume, I’d believe you if you told me she was 14.
Aww. I like her as an actress, and she seems like a sweet girl, but she’s really getting bit by the Oscar curse.
I have enjoyed the films I’ve seen her in. I thought she was really good in The Man from UNCLE. And, honestly, I found Fassbender to be the weakest part of The Light,etc. My favorite Shakespearean tragedy is “McBeth”, and boy, he’s no McB!!
And hate that Dane is getting trashed!! He was so good in Kill Your Darlings. I agree he’s not the traditional leading man kind of actor.
Will I go see this? Probably-I am trying hard to support movies that aren’t comic-based.
Man…I thought she was AWFUL in TMFU. Absolutely awful, like I couldn’t understand how or why she became an actress awful. She mumbled every line!! I don’t get the hype at all.
Right? I’m not sure how Lights is her fault, but not Fassbender’s. Between Macbeth, Steve Jobs and Assasin’s Creed he’s been having a far, far worse run at the box office than Alicia.
and they just handed her Lara Croft based off of what?!
someone is tryin’ to make her happen.
I love Lara Croft and was happy they cast Angelina, the script and direction tho…but I’d watch Waltz paint a barn for 1 1/2 hr he’s very interesting as an actor.
Agree on Cristoph Waltz – no matter how bad Alicia (or Dane) are or aren’t in the film, I’ll watch it for him. He really is an amazing actor.
The cast is like two different movies. Christoph Waltz and Judi Dench should be in one movie, and Cara Delevigne, Cressida Bonas, and Matthew Morrison (I audibly laughed when they showed him in the trailer) should be in another one.
I would value an opinion from someone who has actually seen the movie. Blaming an actor that you obviously don’t like without having seen the movie or even have second hand information that her performance was bad seems kind of petty. Unless you are a psycic of course and your visions are on point then you could have valid critisim even ahead of seeing the movie.
Hi Cilla, I saw the movie in Germany a week ago and was quite disappointed. In my opinion, the fault lies not so much with the actors but with the scriptwriting. I have trouble believing it is based on a bestseller. It feels more like someone in Hollywood thought: Let’s make a movie about this Holland tulip thing and then came up with some completely lifeless characters to populate it. I had little empathy for any of them and I found the end rather annoying, especially the “Eight years later…” afterthought. The only positive surprise is Holliday Grainger, who I saw for the first time.
The worst part was that absolutely nothing about the story was a surprise to me, I even felt maybe I am too old already to go to the movies anymore, I have seen it all before somewhere else and much better executed.
If the topic interests you, I would recommend the book. It can’t possibly be worse than the movie. A beautiful idea was wasted, a real shame, just like “Girl with a pearl earing”.
The book was ok… well it was mostly good actually but I did not enjoy the ending so that stops be from recommending it to others.
It has a lot of historically accurate detail and the film has made changes to the characters ( can tell just by my the trailer) which make them more one dimensional
Thanks I will check out the book!
Congratulations on being better than everyone here! You know there are other websites beside this one, right?
I thought the trailer looked pretty good and will definitely watch it on redbox when it comes out. The lack of reviews on release day just doesn’t bode well for paying the movie fare.
It’s so interesting that long before there was a dot.com bubble there was a tulip bubble. I’m going to audio-read the book.
That’s because the Weinsteins put a review embargo on it.
Harvey punishing one of his bonafides? When he doesn’t get what he wants, he could sabotage his own productions just to punish someone who dared to challenge him.
If what people are saying about his company’s finances is true, he can’t afford it.
I’ve only seen a few of her films but I think she’s a pretty good actress. Is she one of the greatest actresses of her generation? Not so much (Oscar not withstanding), but she’s young and could still grow to that level of prestige. She seems very driven so she just might get there, as long as she continues to push herself and pursues good roles over pursuing fame. I also think she’s very beautiful. Not stunning, but to me she has the face of a porcelain doll (when she’s not overly tanned lol).
I’d already forgotten Alicia Vikander exists.
I think she forgets it sometimes herself. LOL.. Those dead fish eyes.
LOL! They’re really trying to make her happen but she has zero charisma.
I’m amused when people say “Oh, she’s so bland, dead eyes, no presence. But such great acting when she was a robot in Ex Machina!”
To each his/her own, but the hate-on for her is so odd to me. She’s a good actress and is ambitious. She’s allowed to have a dud of a movie once in a while (as this appears to be).
Maybe the real tulip fever was the friends we made along the way.
Is Brie Larson a draw? Glass Castle came out three weeks ago without anyone noticing. Not her fault because it was barely promoted and it’s another mediocre movie.
Vikander shot this movie three years ago,way before her Oscar. Nobody is saying that she or other actors suck because there’s only so much an actor can do with a bad script and a messy project. Is Vikander supposed to be a draw at this stage of her career? Really? Was Vikander supposed to “carry” TLBO as if it’s a blockbuster movie? She IS fantastic in TLBO and she got great notices. I don’t know why we’re blaming Vikander.
Oh snap. Just peeked back at Rotten Tomatoes and Tulip is currently boasting a score of 6%. It’s on par with the Emoji Movie.
The movie got made. That’s what went wrong.
I liked her because of Ex Machina and the period drama but since then she has worn off. She doesn’t have staying power and I think she is basically a character actress who should also do small movies.
There isn’t a lot of power and her relationship is blah too. He’s lost his steam as well.
If she disappeared from film after this not many people would notice she was gone.
Every time I see the Weinstein Company’s production logo, I think of that story about Studio Ghibli sending Weinstein a katana with a note that said “No cuts.”
Just on a personal note, I’d rather do it with Christoph Waltz than Dane DeHaan. Jack O’Connell does it for me too.
The Light Between Oceans wasn’t pushed back. Vikander and Fassbender had other movies coming out in 2015 and the movie wasn’t finshed.Cianfrance said that he took his time to edit the 200+ hours he shot. Last year it was expected to have a Oscars release but was released in early September.
The notion that Vikander has something to do with the Tulip Fever delays doesn’t make any sense.
Christoph Waltz is captivating in every role. Alicia reminds me of ScarJo in that she’s incredibly dull but a great actress according to Hollywood. Don’t get it.
There is something fishy about her career and what is happening with her. She was hot with solid films and poised to launch a serious career. We don’t see her much and she looks rough lately. Hmmm
??? She makes 3/4 movies per year since 6 years
It isn’t the amount as much as the quality of the films.
Thank you Kaiser, finally someone shouts: “the emperor is naked”. ichsi, i totally agreed with you.