This film is the cinematic interpretation of one of my all-time favorite books. Favorite in the sense that you will laugh, you will cry, you will appreciate the spectrum of autism like never before.
Without having to be told Oskar has Asperger Syndrome, like they feel compelled to tell you in the movie.
Let's skip the platitudes, shall we? I mean, it was a good movie, a nice rendition, and I totally cried, so it clearly hit most of the right emotional notes.
But it wasn't how I pictured it.
Thomas Horn was convincing as a precociously intelligent, socially awkward child struggling with the anger of grief, but he was not how I pictured Oskar in my mind.
His performance, however, was forgivable, as it was believable and I liked him by the end. More egregious was the Hanksing of the novel.
Look, I love Tom Hanks. I really do. But putting him in a quasi-serious drama is about as sensible as putting Jimmy Stewart in an action movie. You feel me?
Still, he's not really that bad here, just strange casting. Because let's face it - even though she married that philandering asshat with the motorcycles, there is NO WAY Sandra Bullock would ever end up with a Tom Hanks in real life.
Except, I guess that Rita Wilson is sort of like an older, less precious Sandra Bullock, so maybe it's just my own personal biases here.
Whatever.
The best part of the movie is Max Von Sydow as the Renter.
For a man with no lines, he certainly was pretty damn good.
And Jeffrey Wright, who I think deserves an Oscar (not an Oskar, 'cuz that would be creepy) just for showing up to play in any movie.
Good but not great interpretation of a book that is so clearly visual that it might actually transcend film.
about flippin' time you reviewed this one. we watched this AGES ago...
ReplyDelete