reallyshippy

I'm all for book-to-film adaptations, I mean, I'm a Lord of the Rings fan. But here is a perfect example of a film completely ruining, and not to mention missing the point, of the book. I'm currently studying the book at school and in three weeks I have an oral exam on the book. Part of the exam is to compare the book with other works we've read or seen. Needless to say I shall spend a large amount of time talking about how rubbish this film is in comparison. They've left out so many of the best parts, left out any essence of humour, left out the strong relationship between the 3 friends, made the plot linear and played up the implication that the relationship between mother and son was incestuous, as claimed by Emyr Llewelyn. If you have seen this film, or if you plan on seeing this film, I can only say one thing. Read the book instead. It is a far superior work of art.

This film is a wonderfully simplistic work. Enjoyable from start to end it is both sad yet uplifting at the same time. The performances from Miranda Otto (oh, how she deserves so much more recognition!)and George del Hoya are beautiful and yet almost painful to watch, as the two tortured souls come to understand each other. The supporting cast of workers at the Dead Letter Office are wonderful bit-parts in them selves, as is Alice's long-suffering boyfriend, who I couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for. There's one particular scene I could watch over and over (and I have!), it's such a shame that films like these don't get recognition, and therefore bring them futher into the public eye for more people to enjoy. I cried, I laughed and I sighed. I'd recommend this film to anyone.

I watched this programme tonight because I've just studied Philip Larkin's poems for my AS Level exams. To be honest I didn't particularly enjoy his poems, but I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. Great acting all round, as expected. The subject matter was dealt with sensitively, and really gave a depth to Larkin's attitudes, and his traditional label of 'moaner'. Highly recommended!