Monday 9 January 2012

An Adaptation and a Review

This week has been a definite achievement in film watching prowess. Only including films I haven’t seen before, I viewed: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, “Due Date”, “Goon”, “Barney’s Version” and “Season of the Witch”, which includes not one but TWO cinema trips. I am proud of myself. 

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” definitely did not disappoint. The music was epic and brilliantly atmospheric and the scenery was cold, dark, creepy and beautiful, as is fitting for such a film. Rooney Mara is fantastic as Lisbeth. It’s not an easy character to adopt, but she’s perfect. The rest of the cast is also good, though obviously don’t have as interesting or challenging roles, but there’s no weak link. I love the plot, I love a good detective story and this one has twists and multiple suspects and horrible secrets. It’s completely compelling through to the end.

In comparison with the Swedish version... . Well, it’s not better. Both are brilliantly done and well acted, the differences are mainly in what parts of the story get most attention. In the Swedish version I’d say the gruesome bits are a bit more gruesome and there’s more focus on the case. In the American version it goes into Blomkvist’s life and his relationship with Lisbeth with more detail than the Swedish. It’s definitely more Hollywood, if only slightly. Overall the Swedish version is probably a bit better.

I also went to see “Goon” in the cinema, much to my surprise. Like many others, upon seeing the poster I asked myself “who is actually going to go and see that film?” I guess I know now. Persuaded by my film buddy to go see it – as he had previously been so kind enough to see films such as “New Year’s Eve” with me, I ended up enjoying myself thoroughly. It’s about an unintelligent, but sweet, bouncer who becomes an ice hockey player, basically with the job of beating up the other team. There’s a girl in there too of course. I do like Sean William Scott – though I don’t believe he is the sign of a good film – and he is very likeable and sweet in this film. It’s written by the guy who wrote “Superbad” and “the Green Hornet” who ISN’T Seth Rogan and that nerdy guy from “the Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and it is genuinely quite funny, though nothing I’m going to go out of my way to see again. Go see it if you like S.W.S. and the stuff he’s usually in or if you really like films like “Superbad” but beware, it is incredibly gory for a comedy.

Of the three non-cinema films, I must recommend most highly “Barney’s Version”. It’s basically about Barney’s (Paul Giamatti) life from his first marriage to his third, to the love of his life. It’s kind of one of those films where nothing really happens, like “the Station Agent” or “Sideways” I imagine (I haven’t actually seen the latter), but actually lots happens. The acting is great of course and it’s incredibly moving. I found myself still thinking about it for hours after.

I am planning on reading “the Millenium Trilogy” soon, before I watch anymore of the Swedish or American films, because I believe it’s always best to read the book before watching the film if you plan on doing both. That in mind, in this blog I shall list my top 5 films adapted from books:

1. The Lord of the Rings
I know this is on pretty much all of my lists, but it is one of the hardest books to film right I would imagine, considering the special effects required, the scenery, the pure scale of the film and it is all fantastically captured. You watch it and you believe Middle Earth exists. Though there are a few changes from the book which annoy me – Faramir is so wet in the film – it generally sticks well to the book, keeping in the important bits and editing out what doesn’t detract from the story.


2. A Clockwork Orange
There are various changes from the book, but mainly aesthetic ones. It captures the futuristic, dystopian atmosphere perfectly. It is one of the best books I’ve ever read and one of the best films I’ve ever seen. This could easily have gone wrong, considering the odd characters and events, but these are used perhaps to an even more surreal extent in the film to support the message of the book: Does taking away a bad man’s ability to commit evil acts truly make him good? 

       3.  A Room with a View (2007 – the TV movie)
The Merchant Ivory version of this book is also brilliant, possibly a better cast overall and so beautifully filmed – they’ve done almost all of Forster’s books and very well at that – but one key element makes this more modern version my favourite: Rafe Spall. The best part of this book is the relationship between the protagonists, Lucy and Georg, and, though Helena Bonham Carter was a brilliant Lucy, Julian Sands is just creepy as George. George should be sweet and simple on the surface, but deep underneath. Julian Sands was just creepy and lecherous.  Helena does not seem to enjoy being kissed by him. Rafe on the other hand depicts George wonderfully, he is pure and sweet and clearly more intelligent than he seems. The chemistry between him and Elaine Cassidy is undeniable.

4.    4.   Pride and Prejudice (1995 – the TV movie)
This version is far better than the Keira Knightley version, though I do also enjoy that film. Books like “Pride and Prejudice” and “Jane Eyre” need 6-hour-long series to get in all the important detail and such things are best done in TV period dramas (usually written by Andrew Davies). The scenery, the actors and the script are all perfect, all key characters and events are present and accounted for. Mrs Bennet is hilarious, Mr Collins is horrific, Lydia and Kitty are outrageous, Mr Darcy is irresistable. It’s brilliant.  I’m even slightly in love with Crispin Bonham Carter’s Bingley (I say slightly, that’s an understatement). That said, I do wish Jennifer Ehle would stop finding everything so hilarious! She constantly looks as though she’s holding in a laugh. Ergh, she annoys me so. 

5. 5. Watchmen
This is just so perfect because they’ve copied specific shots from the graphic novel to the very last detail! All of the cast have been chosen and moulded to look exactly like their respective characters in the novel. Plus it’s a brilliant, exciting, compelling plot transformed into a film of aesthetic magnificence and wonderfully horrific fight scenes. The only casting I question is Matthew Goode as Ozymandius. Much as I like Goode, he doesn’t have the right build. The best character in the film, by far, is the Comedian. This is Jeffrey Dean Morgan at his finest. He may be an awful man, but he’s a cool superhero for sure!

Film news: Check out the new trailers for “the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”, “the Dark Knight Rises” and “Prometheus”. “Prometheus” is the new “Alien” prequel, directed by Ridley Scott (yay, I do love the Scott brothers), which has a fantastic cast, starring among others Noomi Rapace (who since Sherlock II I’m pretty fond of), Michael Fassbender (we all know how much I love Fassbender), Idris Elba and Rafe Spall (I have mega love for Rafe Spall, see him in “A Room with a View” to see why). This film should hopefully be epic considering the advert, the director, the cast and the subject matter. It should be coming out 1st June 2012. This is gonna be such a good year for film!

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