though Kidman delivers a workmanlike performance, the story manages to be soppy and ploddingly dull, told via a screenplay that drives home the fact that it's not really about momentous events, but momentous feelings
how did the director come to make this flabby imitation "Lawrence of Arabia," complete with a cast of stars that prompt giggles when they turn up in period wear and a full-throated orchestral score that howls as unceasingly as the desert winds?
by Michael O'Sullivan [Washington Post ]
