... y'know when you see a movie based on a great book and it just doesnt do it justice and you are all disappointed? There is only one thing worse.... seeing the movie first, and then reading the book its based on... Knowing it is never going to be as good as it would have been have you not seen the film yet.
That's why I was determined to read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro before the movie comes out in September. I will admit, I didnt' know the book existed until I saw the trailer for the movie a little while back. And it definitely looks like its totally my type of flick.
But Ishiguro wrote the novel that was the basis of The Remains of the Day, an amazing film that swept the Oscars in 1994, one of the first years I took any serious interest in "grown up" movies.
I am definitely glad I read this book before the film.... Not because I think the film will be shit. It actually has, in my opinion, a 2 in 3 chance of being good, which is directly related to the starring trio of Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightly. Carey Mulligan totally captured me (and the rest of the world) in An Education last year. And Andrew Garfield was brilliant in the totally underseen 2007 film Boy A. Keira Knightly, on the other hand, is the wild card here. As the biggest "celebrity" among the three she has not really been in this kind of character and dialogue driven quietly powerful film in a while. But perhaps being taken out of that element will prove her as an actual talent... She was pretty good in Atonement, which has a similar subtle thrill to its narrative. I WAS disappointed when I went back and re-watched the trailer after finishing the book. It actually shows the entire plot of the book in the minute and a half that makes it up. But I guess thats the point.... there is very little STORY to this book... its how it gets there, how it tells it, that makes it so good.
And that returns me to my original point in this post... THE BOOK... which was amazing.
The story is a wolf in sheeps clothing.... its science fiction done up in the disguise of an idyllic tale of British Boarding School. And the first person retrospective of the narration perfectly teases the weird into the mundane. Its distinctly British... science fiction without a single computer, alien or flying car.
It is science fiction in its truest form. A novel that comments on the world of today by illustrating what could be with one element changed. The whole Butterfly/Tornado bit. And thats the best kind. It highlights the very basic elements of human nature... and does so beautifully. With amazing descriptive passages, metaphors and mental pictures.
I have to say, it has made me even more excited for the film.... But only because I have seen the one the book put in my mind... the one without Keira Knightleys lemon-sucking face on it... seriously, that girl has the BIGGEST lips on the smallest head. I met her once, I thought sneezing would literally knock her over....
Here, watch the trailer, read the book, see the film:
2 comments:
What has the world come to when you can hate on someone because of her lips?
it's come to the internet, my friend... where people can post there most insignificant thoughts.... and other people can point out how petty those are...
... welcome to the Brave New World.
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