The Book Thief: Page vs. Screen

THE BOOK

OK, I admit this may be unorthodox - but it is a well known fact that the film industry is constantly inundated with pictures that have been directly adapted, based on or inspired by novels. This often has mixed results. Personally - I say have at it. Why not? It's a solid theory - a captivating popular book can surely have the potential to be a smash box office hit, or else a deeply moving cinematic experience. There have been numerous occasions where this has been the case for me; I have enjoyed many a good, even great film which itself was based on a book. Here though, I choose to speak about such a parallel where the relationship between page and screen isn't so smooth.

Markus Zusak's The Book Thief swept through the literary world and captivated for a number of years following its 2006 release, and it can even be said that it is still garnering die-hard and deeply emotive responses from readers today. The story of a young girl thrust into war-torn Germany, Hitler's uprising, Jewish persecution, the yearning for family and the adventure of reading, all narrated by Death himself certainly makes for a unique story.

I enjoyed it. Yes I feel that the author has a tendency to smother readers in endless self-obsessive descriptive showing off (as opposed to description that adds to the narrative) and that the characterization is occasionally dissected and examined to within an inch of any character's life, but these, whilst noticeable for me are passable too in what is a deeply moving and powerful tale. 

There are a great many WWII novels out there spanning several genres, but not many have that certain quintessential charm, and also jagged ragged edge that the Book Thief has. 

THE MOVIE

Transfer The Book Thief onto film and...oh dear. Almost all the plus points I found and enjoyed when  reading the book went out the window and were submerged under a mire of clichés, poor casting, poor adaptation, poor performances and the negative aspects of the book intensified.

Far, far too much whimsical wide shots and apparently "dramatic" sequences that actually just come across as a cameraman and a director trying to boost their own egos. The tragedy, personable horror and mesmerizingly morbid mayhem of the war is all but completely lost - resulting in a look at one of the most horrific tragedies in human history viewed through the eyes of a wholly inept and pompous ingrate.

But the worst thing for me is the characters of this film. Often lovingly and patiently crafted in the book (if a tad over-embellished) most of them are reduced to mere echoes of their potential on screen. The glorious Emily Watson as Rosa Hubermann could have been inspired casting, but sadly depressingly limited writing and lack of resonating screen time stifled even her brilliance. The characters of Rudy Steiner and Ilsa Hermann were not only also given a poor slice of screen time but were also reduced to near-caricatures of 1940s Germany. Max was never a character I liked or appreciated much in the book anyhow, but the supremely arrogant and self-absorbed performance Ben Schnetzer gives did not redeem him for me in the slightest.

The lead character of Liesel is possibly the one I despair of most of all - reduced to a wide-eyed simpering girl with the almost second-nature ability to annoy with nearly every move and gesture she makes. None of the attitude, none of the lust for life and none of the charm that Zusak gave her. The results had me despairing and seething.

There were two, and only two saving graces of the film version of The Book Thief - and they were two casting choices and the performances that which followed. Roger Allam and his dulcet tones were so suited to the narration of Death, that not even drastically scaled down and clichéd moments could stop his glory popping in and out of proceedings. Also alongside him is the superb Geoffrey Rush, an acting legend who again is perfectly suited for Liesel's adopted-father Hans (and even if he wasn't he would probably give a fine performance anyway). Again criminally scaled back role, dialogue and screen time but nonetheless Geoffrey Rush shone.

So in conclusion, all I can simply say is that in my opinion if you want to pursue the story that is The Book Thief - on this occasion I'd stick to the book.

Haworth at Christmas 2015

Yes it's my first (and probably slightly overdue) festive post of the season, and it is one that continues a trend. For the past few years now, readers of this blog will note that I am rather fond of the Yorkshire village of Haworth, particularly at Christmas (for previous festive reports – see my BLOG ARCHIVE). Once again I was eager to return this year for the now traditional (for the village and for me) Christmas carol procession up the main street by candlelight, and for the carol service in St. Michael's Church. What follows are just a few words on what I have deemed for years now to be a fantastically festive occasion. 

The stoic stalwarts of Haworth remain the same – still picturesque and charming (in all weathers), still incredibly atmospheric, still full of wonderfully hospitable and endearing folk, and the place still leaves you with a unique blend of feeling truly ensconced in a frozen, bygone era yet still ploughing relentlessly on into the present. I have never been anywhere in the world, where one feels perfectly balanced amongst these two extremes; it is quite something to behold. 

An added bonus for me was being able to see quite noticeable economic developments within the village. Again, most core aspects remain as ever they were, yet sadly a few notable and favourite establishments of mine have passed into nothing. However on the other hand, it was refreshing also to see that other stalwarts of the village, such as the famous Apothecary, not only seem to be thriving but have noticeably expanded. Just how much of this is to do with local trade and/or tourism I do not know, but it was comforting to see most of the village is still going strong throughout the year, as well as being to appreciate it at Christmas.

So once again it only remains for me to say to all concerned – thank you Haworth! Thank you for sharing your slice of Christmas with me and many others, and hopefully I shall be returning soon.  

The Judge

Since his career revival a little over a decade ago (which, lets face it was given quite the kick off with a certain armoured Avenger) the supreme talent that is Robert Downey Jr. has not only gone from strength to strength in the realms of big, epic and often action-packed franchise films, including roles such as Tony Stark and a duly deft turn as Sherlock Holmes, but as an evolving and powerful actor generally. For me, along with legions globally, it has been a joy to see the resurgence of the great acting powerhouse, and also very likable chap that is Robert Downey Jr. What's more as a result of this we get to see him leave Victorian England and Stark tower behind every now and then, and expand his repertoire even further and dazzle us again in new solo outings, often supported by a great story and cast. Such is the case in The Judge.

Essentially this film from last year sees Downey Jr. take on the role of Hank Palmer, the brilliant city-slick lawyer who returns to confront his country roots, his past and his respected court judge of a father (played by Robert Duvall) who has been charged with murder.That in terms of plot, is all you really need to know. Yes there are some added embellishments of the friends and family Palmer left behind that he bonds with again, along with the added dimension of the loving woman and potential child he must re-connect with. All of which are nice touches, if a little over-embellished. Yet the real appeal to me of The Judge is the way it is shot, the way it is performed and the way in which it all comes together as a highly enjoyable package.

Sometimes I leave the best star performance until last, but not today. There is no denying it - Robert Downey Jr. is superb as Hank Palmer. Perfectly poised and and presented at the beginning and so too at the end, where his character certainly has something of a different outlook on life. And in the middle we get a wonderful plethora of perfectly pitched moments of sorrow, love, laughter, joy, darkness and light that Downey Jr. is masterful at delivering, both to whomever he is playing opposite in any one scene and to the audience as a whole. In some ways some of these great moments are completely expected in the narrative of the film but that just does not matter - it does not detract at all from the pleasure one gets in watching them play out.
Opposite him we have Robert Duvall who, whilst not as openly expressive and perhaps full-on as Downey, certainly matches him in term of gravitas and powerful performance. Though I wager Duvall is often sick nowadays of having to play characters at a certain time of life who have some sort of fatal or crippling ailment (in this film for example "the Judge" has terminal cancer) I  can see in this instance why the writers did it and it does fit well into the story. However this is the one area where I feel Duvall and co. didn't quite live up. Yes this aspect of his character is deeply touching and resonating and it makes for some remarkable moments between him and Downey, yet I never really felt that Duvall put much thought in how this was coming across on screen. Nor really did anyone else around him seem to punch through that particular shroud. It simply felt that he was "going through the motions"; not in terms of playing a man who has cancer (which is naturally very difficult and harrowing) but in how he envisioned how such would effect those around him. It seemed to be something of a background shadow, which Duvall's character never really seemed to acknowledge at all apart from absolutely necessary. This may be down to a combination of writing, directing and acting choices, but I feel at some point a wrong decision was made there. Regardless, Duvall is mostly masterful, and as said more than matches Downey Jr. scene for scene which makes for some great chemistry between the two.

Other notable performances - well the ensemble supporting cast was quite something here, and unlike some cases most of them truly delivered. I for one was overjoyed to see the likes of Billy Bob Thornton, Leighton Meester, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, and less-well known talents such as Vera Farmiga all come spectacularly good. Truly, each cast member and each character is brilliant to watch on screen.

It's true, The Judge may not be a future classic, in terms of overall film or massively memorable performances, and its also true that there are numerous moments that you can see were done to play to a cliché and to appeal to the awards season montage. And I just do not care. It is an emotional roller-coaster, but a sublime, subtle and supreme one that for the most part knows exactly what and how to pitch to an audience, and the result in my view is a great film.