The movie closely follows the book, including minor characters such as Charlie's theatrical agent, the Israeli forger, and the Palestinian youth who added 'used to' to every sentence in English. There were small changes that are of little consequence. Charlie is lured to Greece alone rather than being brought there with her entire company of actors. The cleanup of the terror cell is blunt violence rather than clever assassinations. Nevertheless, it is a very faithful adaptation.
Diane Keaton is miscast. She was much too old to play Charlie. Keaton was in her late thirties while Charlie is in her mid-20s. Charlie is a good driver while Keaton backed into a tree. Really? Charlie is the kind of woman who could attract a 20-something playboy and make him fall for her. That's not believable with Keaton.
Klaus Kinski was great at Kurtz. At first, I thought he was wrong for the part. For some reason, I pictured Kurtz more like Rod Stieger or George C Scott. Obviously, the part isn't as deep as the novel but he commanded any scenes he was in. I've never much cared for Kinski, but really enjoyed him here. Probably the best I've seen of his work, except maybe as the hunchback in For a Few Dollars More. 😃
Yorgo Voyagis is flat as Joseph. The whirlwind love affair between Charlie and Joseph is entirely unbelievable. It took time to mature in the novel while here we only have a couple of scenes that show a woman too old to be easily smitten by a bland suitor and a bouquet of flowers. There is no chemistry here. Joseph has a deep history in the novel that is gently touched by the movie. Yorgo mostly plays serious or depressed. Very forgettable.
Having read the novel very recently, I caught a lot of the tiny details that were included and had no trouble following the story; it was like a highlight reel. For someone who had not read the novel, this would probably have been harder to follow. There are lots of characters, many of whom should probably have been left out.
Skip.
No comments:
Post a Comment