Change Your Image
SnwBorder52
Reviews
The Rules of Attraction (2002)
Film adaptation lacks depth. Overall quality low.
I saw The Rules of Attraction immediately after reading the book a week ago, and i was very disappointed. Expecting a "Garden State" or "Stranger Than Fiction" type of film, in the way the movie was shot, in the acting, soundtrack, etc, the movie turned out to be just sub-par.
First, the script is a huge let down and changes dramatically from the book. Now this is not avoidable when books are made into movies, but the story, and more importantly what an audience takes away from its experience is different. For instance, in the book Lauren loses her virginity during her freshman year, prior to all her relationships, while in the movie it is not until her senior year, post the events in the movie. Also, the fact that Paul and Lauren both had relationships with Sean is left out, and, i believe the most important piece of information, the fact that *Big Book Spoiler* Lauren gets pregnant, and eventually has an abortion is left out*End Spoiler* Now normally this isn't a big deal, but since the book is so profound, these details are huge. A Large emphasis in the book is that relationships, and life, just move on. The Rules of Attraction as a book is just the middle of a story, it has a begging and an end in its own right, but the actual characters have no begging and no end in, it is just one section of their life put on paper.
Also, Paul is still in love with Sean at the end of the movie, as well as Sean is still in love with Lauren, and so forth. In fact Paul's and Sean's relationship is over halfway through the book.
All these descepances make the film have much less of an impact than the book, and I feel like rather then condensing to book to film form, the writers re-wrote the story, and did not do a good job of it.
Other notes, the cinematography was OK, and it made it look like another Teen Movie. Same with the acting. There is a line that Paul says to Sean before Paul leaves to see his mother. He says "I don't want you to go alone..." to the party, that is, when hes really saying "I don't want u to go alone because i don't trust you". Although this can be conveyed in film, this sub-text, and others like it, are lost in the film.
I still highly recommend the book, but don't expect to get a great deal of thought provoking themes in the movie, it is more for entertainment purposes, than to really inspire the audience.
Thumbsucker (2005)
A summary of senior year.
An incredibly imaginative film. Mills throws himself into the world of a teenage boy, specifically a senior in high school, and a geek at that. One of the greatest feelings that we (or at least I) have before we seniors go off to college is feeling ready to move on with our lives, but at the same time we feel depressed. We are leaving behind everything we have known and loved for our entire lives. In that lies the conflict. And when Keanu Reaves talks about how "we all want to be problemless". As seniors we try to fix these conflicts, but we cant. In fact, to be problemful is "normal". Really a great piece of cinema. All the actors, including Reaves (hehe, i still kept seeing him as NEO), do a fantastic job. And the ending, though corny, is extremely appropriate. He is free because he has lived with his conflict, he has moved on. He is going to college, but he still sucks his thumb, and thats OK. And he gets the girl (at least we think he does).
"The trick is living without any answers... I think...
...
I think..." A great movie, a recommendation to any senior worried about college, and truly anyone who is conflicted about something.