Total Eclipse (1995)

Review by All Movie Guide
Filmed during that strange post-What's Eating Gilbert Grape, pre-Titanic phase when Leonardo DiCaprio was busy turning out admirable performances in movies nobody wanted to see, Total Eclipse proves a rare misfire from the normally consistent Agnieszka Holland. Although it boasts a script by Oscar-winning dramaturge Christopher Hampton and committed performances from noted thespians David Thewlis and Romane Bohringer, Total Eclipse quickly devolves into "the Leo show." For an interminable 110 minutes, DiCaprio showily engages in all manner of outré behavior: climbing trees, braying at animals, screaming at lovers, talking in funny voices, showing off his bony shoulders, submitting to rough bouts of sodomy, declaiming pretentious verse, and otherwise acting like, well, a capital-A Actor. It's anyone's guess whether the extreme tedium that ensues says more about DiCaprio the journeyman performer or Rimbaud, the drama-queen poet he's portraying. Either way, Total Eclipse fails miserably in its quest to present poetry as the rock & roll of the 19th century. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide