*one very slight spoiler*
True stories are always double edged swords.
On the one hand, you have to benefit of a quasi-objective analysis of the events therein: there are subtleties of language and action that the director may not have realized/created which can give the film an entirely new level of meaning that is impossible to reach with fiction.
On the other hand, you can't very well complain when a true story takes a hard corner and leaves you in a black pit of despair. *sigh*
Both of the above are true of _The Whole Wide World_. Although Ireland's direction is certainly competent, it didn't really seem to me that he had a very good grasp of Robert E. Howard's character, choosing instead the easier route of of telling the story through Novalyne. While this does make some narrative sense (given that she wrote the source material), the story was always supposed to be about Howard and how he approached the world. This way, Howard comes off as much stranger than he probably should. If you are not a person that can relate to Howard (i.e., someone with a vivid imagination and tremendous depth of feeling), much of his behavior will be a mystery, since the film does not make much of an attempt to explain it.
Which brings us around to the ending of this film. While I'll leave it to the viewer to discover the specifics, I will say that I am very tired of all these stories with beautiful, imaginative people coming to less-than-satisfactory ends. Of course, this is based on historical fact, but that makes the events of this film that much sadder: that not only can film not treat its gentle protagonists justly, but life is just as cruel.
But then again, that's probably the point. It was Howard's reason for retreating into his fantasy, and this film is supposed to provoke a similar reaction. Hmm. I don't suppose Ireland was counting on a huge replay value.
The performances here are good. Zellweger does her typical thing, although she's much more feisty here than usual. D'Onofrio does a respectable job with the difficult task he's given, although I got the feeling that he really didn't know exactly where he was going with the character.
I have mixed feelings about this film. I can't in good conscience recommend it to everyone, but if you think you might be interested, give it a shot.
True stories are always double edged swords.
On the one hand, you have to benefit of a quasi-objective analysis of the events therein: there are subtleties of language and action that the director may not have realized/created which can give the film an entirely new level of meaning that is impossible to reach with fiction.
On the other hand, you can't very well complain when a true story takes a hard corner and leaves you in a black pit of despair. *sigh*
Both of the above are true of _The Whole Wide World_. Although Ireland's direction is certainly competent, it didn't really seem to me that he had a very good grasp of Robert E. Howard's character, choosing instead the easier route of of telling the story through Novalyne. While this does make some narrative sense (given that she wrote the source material), the story was always supposed to be about Howard and how he approached the world. This way, Howard comes off as much stranger than he probably should. If you are not a person that can relate to Howard (i.e., someone with a vivid imagination and tremendous depth of feeling), much of his behavior will be a mystery, since the film does not make much of an attempt to explain it.
Which brings us around to the ending of this film. While I'll leave it to the viewer to discover the specifics, I will say that I am very tired of all these stories with beautiful, imaginative people coming to less-than-satisfactory ends. Of course, this is based on historical fact, but that makes the events of this film that much sadder: that not only can film not treat its gentle protagonists justly, but life is just as cruel.
But then again, that's probably the point. It was Howard's reason for retreating into his fantasy, and this film is supposed to provoke a similar reaction. Hmm. I don't suppose Ireland was counting on a huge replay value.
The performances here are good. Zellweger does her typical thing, although she's much more feisty here than usual. D'Onofrio does a respectable job with the difficult task he's given, although I got the feeling that he really didn't know exactly where he was going with the character.
I have mixed feelings about this film. I can't in good conscience recommend it to everyone, but if you think you might be interested, give it a shot.