The story about a Russian girl who grows up in England around World War II and falls in love with a gypsy could be interesting, but, then again, it might not.

The Man Who Cried falls into the latter category, unfortunately. Despite the cinematic effects and intriguing direction, The Man Who Cried suffers from the first thing that captures anyone's attention, and that would be a lack of entertainment.

Good dramas are entertaining. Bad dramas are not. The script may be dramatic and maybe even realistic, but it has to be entertaining. It is amazing how a good script can be entertaining without being funny, or can be dramatic while still being funny. The Man Who Cried is just downright boring.

Christina Ricci stars but she doesn't do a single thing to attract my attention. Cate Blanchett is a little more captivating, but even her character is bland. I got bored before I delved too far into Johnny Depp's character.

To be honest, I never made it to the end of the film. A little more than halfway through, I realized that I was wasting my time with this drab piece of work. I spent many minutes running my DVD at a slightly faster speed, where I would hear clippets of dialogue (and there isn't that much dialogue) and watch the characters move around aimlessly. I really don't think I missed much.

To watch The Man Who Cried, you might want to turn your DVD to fast-forward. Or, better yet, don't bother, because there are much better movies out there.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.