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Title: Agressively mediocre
Review: This film follows the unhappy life of doctor and poet Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif) and his doomed love affair with the beautiful Lara (Julie Christie) during the years of the Russian Revolution. Although technically brilliant, the story is a romantic muddle full of coincidence and unexplained changes in character. Sharif and Christie generate little chemistry on the screen. Sharif's portrayal is bland and the character of Zhivago is unsympathetic; his treatment of his unbelievably saintly first wife (Geraldine Chaplin) is unforgivable. Rod Steiger's Komarovsky goes from villainous cretin to would-be benefactor with little rationale.As I mentioned above, the production values are excellent and director David Lean certainly knows how to frame a shot. If the film were shorter, these merits would elevate it to three stars in my eyes. However, such expense, effort and time wasted on such threadbare material simply emphasizes how lightweight the story is.
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