Clumsy

Rating: 1/10 (27 April 2007)

This is probably one of the worst films I have ever seen. If you must watch it, watch for the cinematography with the sound off to spare yourself the agony of bad dialogue delivered grudgingly. The Julianne Moore character is killed off early, probably at her request. Every discrepancy between the book and the movie is a mistake, and the film is more discrepancy than adaptation. That which was omitted should not have been omitted and that which was added should not have been added and there is no health in it.
The best work in it is by Michael Caine, the guy who plays Syd, and the mute paralyzed woman in the wheel chair, who obviously represents the unfortunate viewer. Think Golden Child, or Star Trek I, or possibly Liquid Sky, and revise your expectations downward. I kept watching, paralyzed, in silent protest, unable to comprehend how a film with such perfect sets, lighting, and camera work could actually be so bad. The director should consider a career in the food service industry.
Another point that bothered me about the film, and should bother everyone. In the novel, it is men who cannot sire children. P. D. James extends an actual trend, falling sperm counts due to environmental pollution, to its logical conclusion. In the film, for no reason that I could see, the "blame" is shifted onto women. Pathetic.