Tom Jones is a bad boy with a good heart. Based on Henry Fielding's novel of the same title, the film Tom Jones shows us that any man should be forgiven for his behavior as long as he has good intentions and as long as he has true love. I'm not sure I agree with this part as although Tom is charming and kind he's a complete player and I doubt he's going to change his ways after marrying his true love.
The storyline is fairly simplistic: Tom grows up, falls in love, behaves badly, embarrasses family, leaves home, and returns to their favor after some truth is revealed. There wasn't anything about the story or the characters that I found really interesting. Some of them are stereotypical: the drunken aristocrat, the servants, the uptight cousin, etc. Lacking originality in story and character makes Tom Jones a surprising pick for Best Picture, so I began to think about other reasons why the film was selected...and I'm still thinking, two weeks after watching the film. I'm at a loss.
My main problem with Tom Jones is that it doesn't seem to have aged well. The cinematography seems dated. To transition from one scene to the next and to add comic effect, the director used a spotlight transition where as the screen went black, there was a circle that zoomed and focused in on one character's face who was either the troublemaker of the scene or the one who would have a smirk. It came across as cheesy instead of funny, but perhaps when the film was first released, this was seen as clever. Another characteristic of the film was the use of montages and extended non-speaking scenes where we see Tom fall in love or flirtation. In one scene, Tom and Mrs. Waters share a meal, and to build sexual tension, the director cuts from Tom to Mrs. Waters repeatedly as they eat. The characters begin to eat the food more suggestively, wordlessly communicating their desire. It comes across as ridiculous, which initially may have added to the comedy of the film, but it didn't have that effect for me.
In the end, Tom Jones was a disappointment. I didn't find it humorous...I didn't even find it somewhat interesting.
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