Worth watching once if only for scenes like Marilyn Monroe demonstrating relativity to Einstein with miniature trains and flashlights, Babe Ruth telling Einstein how many packs of gum he's been featured on, and Monroe dancing with her skirt on fire in the middle of a nuclear explosion (don't ask).


Roeg begins to stumble   August 18, 2002
 4 out of 7 found this review helpful

"Insignificance" is a wonderful film. It has strong visual flair and Theresa Russell(the actress) and Michel Emil(the professor) are very good.....HOWEVER....
This is NOT the best film Nicolas Roeg has done. In fact I have to say that when compared to his earlier work, it's very weak. Roeg can be a very demanding director and anyone watching his films must be prepared to participate and not expect to be spoonfed everything you need to know about what you are seeing. This is what I love about his films but "Insignificance" seems confusing just for the sake of it. To me this film represents what has gone wrong with Roegs later work. The material just doesn't fit well with his idiosyncratic style. There isn't really any need for this film to be so strange. I sometimes think that Roegs' ultimate artistic drop came with his working so much with his wife Theresa Russell. They met while Roeg was filming "Bad Timing"(Roegs most brutal and accomplished film..DVD please!!) and since then Roegs films gradually declined in quality. A shame really because at one time Roeg was one of the strongest directors in the 70's. If you want to see this true artist at his best then see "Performance", "Walkabout", "Don't Look Now", "The Man Who Fell To Earth", "Bad Timing" and "Eureka". From "Insignificance" and onward Nicolas Roeg has found promblems with his choice of material to film.


A Feast for the Mind and Eyes   March 13, 2002
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Those who say that "The Man Who Fell To Earth" (1976) was Nicolas Roeg's last great movie either have not seen "Insignificance"(1985) or have vastly underestimated it. All the trademarks of a Roeg film are here; surrealism, spectacular visuals and a uniquely intelligent story.The idea that Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstien had an intimate relationship is explored here with great gusto. Misconceptions about Monroe's intelligence and Einstien's intellectual elitism are shattered here although her baseball player husband(DiMaggio)is what the viewer would expect.The climax is both unpredictable and mind blowing. All in all, Russell and veteran cast are great and Roeg's craftsmanship is uniformly excellent.


Significant   December 28, 1999
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

One of my all time favorite films. Thought provoking. Insignificance reminds us that we are part of a much larger picture. How something that may seem like a minor incident to one person is a major occurrence to another. Guess it goes back to that Native American saying about not judging (or assuming about) another person until you walk a mile in there moccassins.