I loved this book. When I first read it, I felt like I was on the cutting edge. Jonathan Safran Foer’s experiments with the narrative were not only refreshingly innovative but harmonious and full of emotion and personality. Although I give a rowdy round of applause for the attempt, I can’t help but feel that this film, written and directed by Liev Schreiber was an unfortunate letdown....
Ok, turning this novel into a film is obviously a difficult endeavor, and one which I appreciate, but I feel like the attempt really shouldn’t be made unless the director can include what made the story so special in the first place.
By far, the most disappointing aspect of the film wasn’t that it lacked the delicate complexity of the different narrative forms, but that half the story was missing. For those who haven’t read the book, a very large part of it was set back in history in the shtetl of our main character’s ancestors. That part of the story is incredibly moving and interfaces with the story set in the present in brilliant ways. To me, that was the heart of the story and it gave depth to the heart-rending climax of the story. I don’t know if it was timidity on the part of the filmmakers to open up their version to that level of complexity, an aversion to doing half the movie as a period piece, a limited budget or some other combination of factors, but the movie didn’t include the historical story and consequentially could only ever be a ghost of the novel.
I generally enjoyed the rest of the movie, including the performances by Elijah Wood and Eugene Hutz (who was brilliantly cast as Alex) as well as the cinematography, costuming and music, but the above-mentioned story-thinning was like watching a beheading, and it limited any positive experience I could have.
The film, however, did win some awards, so at least the filmmakers did get points for trying.
