Genius (2016)
With an incredible cast of Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Guy Pearce, Laura Linney, and Dominic West, be prepared for some wonderful acting in Genius. It’s a movie about the real-life editor Max Perkins who worked with famous authors, but while a few scenes touch on his relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, the majority of the film is devoted to his work with Thomas Wolfe.
While there is a lot to appreciate in this movie, namely Colin Firth’s emotion and Jude Law’s energy, I couldn’t ignore the overall feel that John Logan’s script didn’t quite know what direction it wanted to take. Since the film is about a very wordy writer and the quest to cut down his manuscript before publication, perhaps Logan purposely wrote his script with that tone, so that the screenplay mirrored the plot’s difficulty. If it was done on purpose, it was very clever and well done. If it wasn’t, then the storyline coincidentally explores many different avenues without taking the time to fully finish or flesh out any of them.
There’s a particular scene that I remember most vividly: Colin and Jude and working to cut down his manuscript, and a passage is read aloud about the protagonist falling in love at first sight. He describes the woman’s appearance, and it’s so beautifully poetic, I was almost moved to tears. At the end of the scene, Jude agrees to cut the entire description, leaving only, “Eugene saw a woman. Her eyes were blue. So quickly did he fall for her that no one in the room even heard the sound.” After hearing the original prose, I was so disappointed! The scene was supposed to illustrate the fantastic working relationship between the two, and to show what a great editor Colin is, but I would have rather seen Jude’s works published in its entirety, split into many volumes. The loss of such beautiful words made me lose my appetite for the rest of the film. (Click here to read the original prose.)
If you’re a sucker for 1930s period pieces and love the cast, you’ll probably be entertained by Genius. It’s not a film I want to watch again, but I do like to appreciate good acting. Although, Jude Law’s over-the-top accent made me think he was faking his identity and was somehow trying to scam Colin Firth. And Guy Pearce’s depressive portrayal of F. Scott Fitzgerald isn’t at all how the author’s fans would like to remember him, but there’s always Midnight in Paris for a more likable, upbeat interpretation.
More Jude Law movies here!
While there is a lot to appreciate in this movie, namely Colin Firth’s emotion and Jude Law’s energy, I couldn’t ignore the overall feel that John Logan’s script didn’t quite know what direction it wanted to take. Since the film is about a very wordy writer and the quest to cut down his manuscript before publication, perhaps Logan purposely wrote his script with that tone, so that the screenplay mirrored the plot’s difficulty. If it was done on purpose, it was very clever and well done. If it wasn’t, then the storyline coincidentally explores many different avenues without taking the time to fully finish or flesh out any of them.
There’s a particular scene that I remember most vividly: Colin and Jude and working to cut down his manuscript, and a passage is read aloud about the protagonist falling in love at first sight. He describes the woman’s appearance, and it’s so beautifully poetic, I was almost moved to tears. At the end of the scene, Jude agrees to cut the entire description, leaving only, “Eugene saw a woman. Her eyes were blue. So quickly did he fall for her that no one in the room even heard the sound.” After hearing the original prose, I was so disappointed! The scene was supposed to illustrate the fantastic working relationship between the two, and to show what a great editor Colin is, but I would have rather seen Jude’s works published in its entirety, split into many volumes. The loss of such beautiful words made me lose my appetite for the rest of the film. (Click here to read the original prose.)
If you’re a sucker for 1930s period pieces and love the cast, you’ll probably be entertained by Genius. It’s not a film I want to watch again, but I do like to appreciate good acting. Although, Jude Law’s over-the-top accent made me think he was faking his identity and was somehow trying to scam Colin Firth. And Guy Pearce’s depressive portrayal of F. Scott Fitzgerald isn’t at all how the author’s fans would like to remember him, but there’s always Midnight in Paris for a more likable, upbeat interpretation.
More Jude Law movies here!