A rather dull and lengthy adaptation

Rating: 4/10 (26 June 2006)

The film follows the plot of the novel if anything too closely, and in the process exposes the non-sequiturs and irrelevancies. As a film it has to tackle the problem of how to cover the lengthy explanations of the plot and fails the test. The characters are left to engage in wordy debates which is simply not cinematic. I found myself repeatedly looking at my watch and muttering 'get on with it, do!' Sir Ian McKellen gives good value, and is probably the main reason for sticking with it. The downside of that is that when he is not on screen the pace slackens considerably. About half an hour from the end I thought it had reached its climax and was reaching for my hat and heading for the exit when I realised with dismay it was lumbering off on another twist of the plot. Bonus points though for having the French characters speaking in French.