1. Adapted from the David Foster Wallace' book of the same title. The book is a pleasant appetizer for anyone curious about the author,or before undertaking the novel Infinite Jest. Like his other work,it is held together by a slippery narrative: the book launches with a incredible story of a boy at a pool,before going into the "Interviews". First masked as mere Q&A,we meet some kooky characters with some seriously creepy habits.Most of these turn out to be very memorable characters,and are written in the typical intense,and focused nature of DFW's prose. 2. Now stepping away from the main offering,we have a few stories pertaining to a less obvious matter,characters with truly bizarre and insidious psychological traits. There's a tale about a grown man who becomes obsessed about an incident in his childhood,when his father once took out his penis and flung it in front of his face.Then there's a man who develops sexual fantasies from watching the old sitcom "Bewitched",but begins to fixate on the logic of freezing time (as Elizabeth Montgomery does in the show,with one quirky finger-wag).So the entire book falls under a loose parameter of "Hideous Men",and the film ambitiously takes on the task of tying it all together into one straight narrative.
3. This film has been thrashed by critics,often citing the same issues. It is incoherent,slightly pretentious and boring after 20 minutes. These are all true to a certain level,but I didn't find it awful. I stayed until the end,despite its many imperfections,perhaps truly at awe with anyone bold enough to make a film out of DFW's work.
4. Is is adapted for the screen,and directed by John Krasinki. Who plays the long tiresome character of Jim in the American installment of The Office,though it is worth mentioning that he was quite entertaining in last year's It's Complicated. The big climax here is a speech an ex-boyfriend gives,played by Krasinki himself.He justifies a recent affair with an interesting story of how "the other woman" related her experience of being raped,and how this brought alive something deeply emotional. This is not something Plain Old Jim can do,he has the look and feel of someone extremely easygoing,affable and uncomplicated. I would've preferred someone who could pull of the bruised,sympathetic vibe of the character,James Franco or Steve Buscemi would've been an obvious choice.
5. I resent British actors hired into roles just for their sheer Britishness.When there is no distinctive attribute other than one's accent. Unless its a romantic comedy,and its Hugh Grant. Then again,someone like Hugh Grant possesses a charm and wit that goes beyond just his accent. In this film,the character presenting all the tough,philosophical arguments is a British guy-or two I think,I'm not sure because they just seemed English and nothing else-here Krasinki typed to create a Woody Allen,or Kevin Smith,type character: someone rambling but intelligent,but has made Being British a priority for some reason.
6. The other big crime,in my eyes at least,is when you cast the wrong person as a female lead. The female lead is a major undertaking,often she has to carry the entire film on her shoulders: she needs to seem special in some way. And when you cast someone like Julianne Nicholson (one of those invincible,boring faces on Law & Order)-someone with a look so pale and ordinary,with no exceptional talent to make up for that,to shoulder a whole damn film,it just does't work.I recently saw Two Lovers,a beautiful film aside from the fact that Gwyneth Paltrow was meant to be this incredible woman one would leave their loves,abandon their old lives,even kill for.Gwyneth Paltrow just doesn't inspire that feeling,in fact she's kind of annoying,and to cast her as something so infinitely desirable,so luscious and amazing,is a mistake.
7. It all comes down to: Skip the movie,read the book.
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