I'm with sarameg--bleak CITY.
And yet I love both the book and the movie.
Who was the real power? The Captain? or Tenille?
Xander ,'Showtime'
Buffista Movies 5: Development Hell
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sarameg - Jul 21, 2006 7:44:59 am PDT #3071 of 10001
§ ita § - Jul 21, 2006 7:49:58 am PDT #3072 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I read the book on holiday in Kenya. I kept pausing to read bits out to my sister, just to share Le Carre's turns of phrase. It was really good. I almost said enjoyable, but not so much.
Hayden - Jul 21, 2006 8:45:43 am PDT #3073 of 10001
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
I like bleak (hey, I may be bleak's poster boy, at least in these parts), but the way CG handled it: they didn't sell any particular reason why he HAD to die, let alone how he thought the baddies would find him in the same place they killed her in the middle of nowhere at any particular time. Don't get me wrong; I'm ok with him dying, but the filmmakers didn't make it clear that he was suicidal up to that point, let alone that the pharma companies had Sauron's magic 8-ball that let them know where he was. Wouldn't have taken much narrative to make it work, but the filmmakers, for whatever reason, didn't do so.
§ ita § - Jul 21, 2006 8:48:27 am PDT #3074 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I can't be sure how much the book told me, but at least in that he'd blown his cover big time by that point. He was just running to keep ahead. Also, there was no way to shut them down and keep himself safe. He had no insurance, no leverage, and might continue to be a threat.
So the murderous thugs killed him too.
sarameg - Jul 21, 2006 8:58:18 am PDT #3075 of 10001
And in a way, it's the only end to his journey. What kept him going was the pursuit of the truth and in a way, a pursuit of his wife. By the very end, he's achieved the first, blown his stable quiet bureaucratic life all too hell, and all that's left is to finally catch his wife. Who is dead, so... And yet, at least in the way the last scene was shot, he's not going to actively commit suicide, which is what they want him to do.
Which doesn't really address Corwood's point, but anywho. Having read the book may have filled in any gaps.
erikaj - Jul 21, 2006 9:45:18 am PDT #3076 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!
No shit, Corwood, you like bleak. But actually "The Wire" has a lot of humor and "Deadwood" believes more strongly in community than I would have guessed when I started watching.
Hayden - Jul 21, 2006 10:00:10 am PDT #3077 of 10001
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
Shh, E. You're killing my street rep!
erikaj - Jul 21, 2006 10:31:37 am PDT #3078 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!
They're both darker than a motherfucker, though, okay?
Hayden - Jul 21, 2006 10:32:55 am PDT #3079 of 10001
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
I feel you.
Frankenbuddha - Jul 21, 2006 10:37:24 am PDT #3080 of 10001
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
They're both darker than a motherfucker, though, okay?
I've got the first season of DEADWOOD in my possession now (I'm watching the third as it's coming out - I don't mind being spoiled or playing catch up on a good show), and, knowing what's coming up, I'm thinking that watching Kristen Bell get beaten to a pulp, shot and then fed to pigs is going to be tougher to watch than the eye-popping street fight. Maybe if I hadn't been following VM from day one it wouldn't be so bad, but there you go.