(rant)
Even George Clooney can not salvage the wreck that is The Good German.
Beautiful film aesthetically, but hey, no surprise there. That's why everyone's going to see it. And I know I probably shouldn't have read the book before I went to go see the movie, because I'm an awful elitist, but...but...
BUT SRSLY
(prepare for spoilage)
If you're going to change the movie that much, you might as well just change the character's names and the title, and save everyone a lot of trouble. I realize that writing the movie version of a book as dense and intricate as The Good German is a difficult thing, and I know that characters will have to be shifted and juggled and (in Liz's case, you cold bastards) cut out all together - but can you actually leave their personalities untouched? Can you make it so the reader's of the book will be able to identify them by something other than name? I've got no problem with small changes, but honestly, when you take Lena's anti-semetic racist sexist weasel of a husband and make him a righteous, upstanding martyr - "We've got to tell the world the truth. For us. For Germany." - it makes me throw up in my mouth a little.
At least - AT LEAST - try to stick vaguely to the plot. It would be nice if the murderer in the book was also the murderer in the movie. And, y'know, people die when they're supposed to. And you don't just invent crazy relationships between characters who never so much as lay eyes on one another in the novel. And you don't completely rip out and stomp on the heart of the one relationship that the book centered around. (He came BACK to Berlin to FIND her. They fall in LOVE. They stay in Berlin TOGETHER. What the fuck happened to that?)
All in all, there was just too much exposition to be spat out through the talking puppets that were the characters to actually feel any emotional connection, not to mention feel the chemistry between them. I really can't remember a time when George Clooney was saying something that did not have to do with the murder or Emil. And the scant emotion that was expounded upon between the characters was strangely shot - almost comical. The quick cuts between Toby MacGuire and George Clooney when MacGuire is railing on him behind the bar made me giggle. And the classic grab-and-shake of Cate Blanchett just seemed contrived and wooden. And the SECOND grab-and-shake they pull just makes the viewer think they're watching the same footage in front of a different green screen. Speaking of - how many times did someone jump out from the shadows and crack a chair of Clooney's face? At least two or three times, because halfway through the movie, it wasn't even surprising any more. Berlin: a city with inadequate lighting where random thugs jump out from behind corners, deal you some minimal damage, and leave. And no one is even sure WHY, because it's not really explained, it just sort of happens.
Oh yeah, who cast Toby MacGuire in this anyways?
The film's good side: wonderful music, wonderful costuming, beautiful mix of old and new footage (in some instances, especially during Cate Blanchett's breath taking closeups, you can hardly believe that the movie was shot recently) and beautiful lighting/camera work. The music was especially effective in creating the old-time movie atmosphere - someone would get shot, and there would actually be the "dun dun DUNNN" that I dream about. So I guess I have to thank the producers for realizing that fantasy for me - and not much else.
Adventure NEXT: Ranting about Bridge to Terabithia. The Kingdom was metaphorical, Disney. Suck it.
Even George Clooney can not salvage the wreck that is The Good German.
Beautiful film aesthetically, but hey, no surprise there. That's why everyone's going to see it. And I know I probably shouldn't have read the book before I went to go see the movie, because I'm an awful elitist, but...but...
BUT SRSLY
(prepare for spoilage)
If you're going to change the movie that much, you might as well just change the character's names and the title, and save everyone a lot of trouble. I realize that writing the movie version of a book as dense and intricate as The Good German is a difficult thing, and I know that characters will have to be shifted and juggled and (in Liz's case, you cold bastards) cut out all together - but can you actually leave their personalities untouched? Can you make it so the reader's of the book will be able to identify them by something other than name? I've got no problem with small changes, but honestly, when you take Lena's anti-semetic racist sexist weasel of a husband and make him a righteous, upstanding martyr - "We've got to tell the world the truth. For us. For Germany." - it makes me throw up in my mouth a little.
At least - AT LEAST - try to stick vaguely to the plot. It would be nice if the murderer in the book was also the murderer in the movie. And, y'know, people die when they're supposed to. And you don't just invent crazy relationships between characters who never so much as lay eyes on one another in the novel. And you don't completely rip out and stomp on the heart of the one relationship that the book centered around. (He came BACK to Berlin to FIND her. They fall in LOVE. They stay in Berlin TOGETHER. What the fuck happened to that?)
All in all, there was just too much exposition to be spat out through the talking puppets that were the characters to actually feel any emotional connection, not to mention feel the chemistry between them. I really can't remember a time when George Clooney was saying something that did not have to do with the murder or Emil. And the scant emotion that was expounded upon between the characters was strangely shot - almost comical. The quick cuts between Toby MacGuire and George Clooney when MacGuire is railing on him behind the bar made me giggle. And the classic grab-and-shake of Cate Blanchett just seemed contrived and wooden. And the SECOND grab-and-shake they pull just makes the viewer think they're watching the same footage in front of a different green screen. Speaking of - how many times did someone jump out from the shadows and crack a chair of Clooney's face? At least two or three times, because halfway through the movie, it wasn't even surprising any more. Berlin: a city with inadequate lighting where random thugs jump out from behind corners, deal you some minimal damage, and leave. And no one is even sure WHY, because it's not really explained, it just sort of happens.
Oh yeah, who cast Toby MacGuire in this anyways?
The film's good side: wonderful music, wonderful costuming, beautiful mix of old and new footage (in some instances, especially during Cate Blanchett's breath taking closeups, you can hardly believe that the movie was shot recently) and beautiful lighting/camera work. The music was especially effective in creating the old-time movie atmosphere - someone would get shot, and there would actually be the "dun dun DUNNN" that I dream about. So I guess I have to thank the producers for realizing that fantasy for me - and not much else.
Adventure NEXT: Ranting about Bridge to Terabithia. The Kingdom was metaphorical, Disney. Suck it.
But as i said i walk a fine line in a grey area.
I've not seen the Good German yet and given your review i'm not sure i ever will.
I write scripts frequently and i've often thought about doing an adaptation for fun to see how it would work. I've put some time into the thought and i realise that if i were to adapt it'd stick to the narrative of the book but structure it filmatically and above all stick to the tone. As far as characters are concerned, so many books are written in the first person (something which is quite incompatable with film) i would have to take the characters and tweak their arcs to fit the plot, tone and duration of the film. Anything else i could add to please the hardcore fans, i would do my best ie. flashy cinematography, great art direction, costume etc. when it came to shooting.
On that note, there is one novel i was born to make into a feature "Twelve" by Nick McDonell. In my dream existance this would be the follow up to my first feature.