To my thinking, it's probably one of the best film adaptations of a beloved novel (to me beloved) I've seen. But unlike, say ROSEMARY'S BABY or THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST, which approximate the feel of the story development in the books, this movie distills the essence of the narrative and then re-imagines how it might be told. It's a brilliant concept, and at the end if you're a fan of the novel, you'll realize how true Ramsay has been to the spirit of the the story's integrity and even its movement. Ramsay just opts to tell it in a non-linear fashion. Again, hang on until the end, and you'll feel the weight of the novel's emotional pull. And Ramsay recreates many key sequences, but renders others in entirely visual terms. Masterful. You feel Eva's point of view without ever "hearing" it, as you do in the film.
Excluding some well-remembered bits of dialogue, some of which apparently they shot, including a famous remark to Eva about why she is among the living, suggests that Ramsay trusts her own ability to deliver a true version of the story that doesn't literally transfer the m.o. of the initial plotting. It's a series of sense memories, linked and then revisited occasionally to produce a full portrait of Eva.
I have seen it twice now, and only feel more impressed with the fidelity to Shriver. But the fidelity isn't a, say GONE WITH THE WIND "faithful" representation.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
Updated On: 12/23/11 at 11:29 PM
