This isn’t a terrible film, but it’s a long way from being a good one.

On the plus side, it’s sumptuous to look at: the costumes, the locations, even the food are all dazzlingly beautiful. Also, the soundtrack works pretty well most of the time. The Banshees’ Hong Kong Garden somehow seems to fit during the masked ball in Paris, even the opening bars played on the Harpsichord. Further, the footage of Kirsten Dunst wondering around the fields of wildflowers in the fading sunlight I think captures the feeling of New Order’s Ceremony quite perfectly. You could cut this out and release it as a music video as is.

On the negative side…well, where do I start? To follow from the last point above, too much of the film is edited like a music video. There are so many quick-cut shots of shoes, clothes, wigs and food that it felt at times like an advertisement for a shopping mall.

Even worse, whole sections of the plot are developed and not taken anywhere. One section in particular, which I won’t go into detail of for fear of spoiling what little enjoyment there is in the plot, is built up quite skillfully and you really feel that this is heading to a major point in the film, then it just stops and doesn’t get used further.  

While I was glad when the ending came, as I was getting quite frustrated with it, I was surprised that it ended when it did. The story wasn’t finished by any stretch, but even what little plot they had developed had not been taken anywhere. There was a real feeling of confusion amongst the people I saw it with when the credits suddenly appeared. I heard more than one person say something to the effect of "Oh, is that it?".

So, get the soundtrack, but only see this for the visuals, and even then, see it on DVD so you can pause\rewind sections of it for a better look.