When I first saw the trailer for this movie adaptation, I was so excited, mainly because Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer is a book I love so very much. To me, it was genuinely heartfelt and beautifully written - definitely one of my favorite reads.
The movie, however, was disappointing. To me, it felt nothing but an attempt to emotionally manipulate its viewers. It was so obvious to me, in my opinion, that everything about the movie - the writing, directing, music, among many others - just seemed contrived, silly, and just plain cheesy.
The biggest disappointment for me though, was how the main character of Oskar Schell was portrayed. Oskar Schell (in the book) is such a loveable and dear character; one can't help but sympathize, empathize, and root for him.
In the movie, Oskar was portrayed as, in my opinion, a disrespectful and out-of-line child. His sadness and anger towards the people around him and the situation itself are not believable. In fact, it was just simply annoying. How can I like a movie with such an unlikable protagonist?
For me, I was just disappointed. I would not recommend it to fans and readers of the books.
Thanks for your awesome honest review. I've been wanting to try the audio and the film. I appreciate your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHi Jillian! I follow your blog but don't often comment. I just wanted you to know your post prompted a response (question) over at my blog. I'm not anticpating your response there; I just didn't want to link and mention your post here without your knowledge. Cheers! (from another Jillian)
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking me your wonderful post. Great responses there!
DeleteSorry the film was a letdown, that happens so often with book to movie adaptations.
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