Informative but not entertainment

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 2006)

I went to see the movie with my wife, who very frequently falls asleep in the middle of a mediocre performance, but this time she was alert and enjoyed the movie from beginning to end. Personally - we have both read the book, I read it twice - I agree with the criticism concerning Mr. Browns skills as a writer. Having said that, I have to point out that the poor writing, though making the directors and screenwriters work more difficult, also provides the movie makers with the leverage needed to sophisticate the dialogue. Ron Howard and his team haven't quite succeeded in making the substance lacking dialogue any better, but the movie is nonetheless more palatable in this respect than the book. Maybe the movie as such is a bit too informative for the average American viewer and requires some education in history beyond that of the local school system. Tom Hanks' performance as professor Langdon has been criticized for being dull and dimensionless, but hey, the man portraits an art historian and symbolist! What do you expect, Indiana Jones? On the contrary, Mr. Hanks' somewhat hapless personality build of the witty professor in the middle of a situation beyond his control is in my opinion well founded and skillfully performed, a more action movie-like approach would have spoiled the idea completely. Ms. Audrey Tautou, the doll-faced french actress with the very winning smile, does not fail, either. She is somewhat lost and perhaps a trifle emotionless in the beginning, but she does rise to the occasion and ends the movie with a skillful touch of comedy. Jean Reno, reliable as ever, makes a fair show of a problematic character and deserves to be complimented. Ian McKellen works with great routine but is not fascinating, though genuinely British in both speech and attitude. Paul Bettany is downright scary and draws a very believable picture of the effects of religious fanaticism on the individual. Which brings us effectively to the point of discussion on the heartrending cries from various friends of our Lord, who feel that both the book and the movie are sacrilegious and should be burned - with the author, naturally. At this point I usually toss the ball back to the critics and remind them of the fact, that if our Lord finds Mr. Brown's or anyone else's books or other works offensive, he will deal with them in his own good time. No human interference is needed, as this is one authority you cannot escape from, right? Should some mortal authority find himself annoyed or even offended, that's OK, but limit your indignation to fair and pertinent criticism.