Lyndon Calling

Read an article today about Barry Lyndon, which I saw last week with a gaggle of folks. It impressed me on a technical level, but I felt very cold and detached from the proceedings, especially during the second half. There were a couple powerful sequences - the duel between Barry and Bullington, the initial ribbon-finding game, etc. - but I felt that the movie was overly concerned with the turns of fate's wheel and not curious as to its real, emotional effect on its characters.

But after reading this article, I am left wondering if I'm the one who needs to reassess how I go about watching movies. Do I have the proper analytical language to approach this movie? In retrospect I still think it is an aloof work, removed from any humanistic leanings in the Thackeray novel, but I probably need to see it again in the future to give it the attention it deserves.