Prepare for spoilers about a really bad movie.
Initial Thoughts
I’m not going to lie, I fell asleep during this movie. I can’t even say that it started off well, because after an embarrassing fifteen minutes I was ready to switch off and rewatch something more exciting. I’m very disappointed because I thought the book was thrilling and it kept me on my toes, but the movie was poorly done.
————————–
Christine
Christine was one of two characters that I actually half-enjoyed watching, which was lucky since she’s the main character. She didn’t stand out to me at all, but at least she didn’t make me want to stab myself in the eye.
Other Characters
There weren’t many other characters present in the story due to Christine’s circumstances where she’s been isolated and cut off from almost everyone she knows. There weren’t many that I particularly liked either, for the same reasons. I enjoyed watching Mike, although I feel like his character could have been developed a lot more. If we had gotten a bit of background on him, it would have made him extra creepy.
Casting
For such a well known cast, I was shocked to find that the casting director did quite a poor job. Colin Firth was, of course, excellent, and Nicole Kidman did an okay job as Christine. However, her accent was frustrating to listen to, and a lot of the time it really got on my nerves. Mark Strong didn’t have a big enough role to really judge his work here, although I did like that they cast him as Dr. Nasch because it’s been really throwing people off when they’ve been trying to figure out the mystery.
Pacing
The movie’s true downfall was the atrocious pacing. Whoever wrote this movie really needs a few lessons on suspense and how to tell a decent story. At the beginning, the movie jumped around all over the place. We were introduced to Christine and then all of a sudden she was going to the place where she was attacked all those years ago, and getting brain scans and all sorts. Then it took ages to get to the point where the action should have been happening. The ending felt very rushed as well, and after the reveal was made it was over just like that.
Adaptation-wise
The main draw of the book was the mystery and the suspense, and without that the movie fell short. The writers did change a few things, such as ageing up Dr. Nasch in order to make him seem like a suspect. I also thought that the idea to have Christine record videos rather than write in a journal was a good one, since it would have been difficult to translate her thoughts on-screen, and it could have been too close to being very Gone Girl.
Favourite Bits
- Very little
- Colin Firth?
Sucky Bits
- The entire movie.
- The feel was off. It was lacking that dark and gritty suspense that kept me reading the book.
- The major reveal towards the end was poorly done, as the directing had a very meh feel to it.
Gem says
Best. Gif. Ever
Amber says
Bahaha