The big, beach-towel novel of 2012 hits the screen, dragging in its wake (one hopes) a resurgence in book sales. Because make no mistake, we all need blockbusters - even if we don’t happen to have authored them personally. They oil the wheels at every level of the publishing and bookselling business, and keep readers remembering that books are central to the entertainment industry.
- The film works. As a procedural, as a thriller. As a big, commercial hit. It works just fine.
- It’s a “meticulously crafted thriller that straddles the divide between genre and art”, says The Atlantic, and I agree. Just enough ideas to keep the brain ticking over, but no more.
- No spoilers, but I was a tad disappointed by the big reveal at about the 50 minute mark (it runs a whopping 145 minutes). Until then, I enjoyed being teased as to who was really telling the truth. But you can’t keep the audience guessing for ever, of course.
- Is it misogynistic? Probably. Author/screenwriter Gillian Flynn has been accused of this in the past, and has defended herself robustly. I did feel uneasy, though, at several points.
This is big, confident story telling. The sort that audiences and readers curl up with and adore. It’s not great literature, nor classic film-making (although there is much talk of Oscars). It is, quite simply, an old-fashioned, smash hit blockbuster... and we need a whole lot more of them.
What did you think?
- The film works. As a procedural, as a thriller. As a big, commercial hit. It works just fine.
- It’s a “meticulously crafted thriller that straddles the divide between genre and art”, says The Atlantic, and I agree. Just enough ideas to keep the brain ticking over, but no more.
- No spoilers, but I was a tad disappointed by the big reveal at about the 50 minute mark (it runs a whopping 145 minutes). Until then, I enjoyed being teased as to who was really telling the truth. But you can’t keep the audience guessing for ever, of course.
- Is it misogynistic? Probably. Author/screenwriter Gillian Flynn has been accused of this in the past, and has defended herself robustly. I did feel uneasy, though, at several points.
This is big, confident story telling. The sort that audiences and readers curl up with and adore. It’s not great literature, nor classic film-making (although there is much talk of Oscars). It is, quite simply, an old-fashioned, smash hit blockbuster... and we need a whole lot more of them.
What did you think?
