A Job Well Done!!

Rating: 7/10 (18 May 2006)

I have read the Da Vinci code and while still a strong Catholic, found it an interesting, well written story. Despite the story's premise, it does not actually contain any mind-shattering anti-doctrinal revelations, simply because none of the stuff in the story can be proved anyway, and even if it could, this is hardly Dan Brown's fault - it would have come out eventually, I think! I can't really understand what many of my fellow Catholics are so worried about. I guess the idea of worshiping at the tomb of Mary Magdelene is blasphemous, but as the existence of this tomb is in itself debatable, let alone it's whereabouts, I think it all essentially breaks down to a storm in a teacup.
No, what Brown has done is written a good, maybe even great story. A rippin' good yarn, so to speak, and having seen it translated to film last night when it opened in Sydney, I wasn't disappointed. Tom Hanks played Robert Langdon exactly as I'd imagined him when I read the book, so I was impressed by his acting and Ron Howard's direction. Audrey Tautou, I felt, was a little weak as Sophie Neveau - personally I'd imagined Sophie's character as stronger, a little more forceful (although in one scene Tautou smashes the albino monk's head against the ground and man! It was nasty! Perhaps even too violent, but anyway ...). Teabing, played by Ian Mckellan was bang-on, I thought, almost exactly how I'd imagined him (although my Leigh Teabing was slightly younger) and McKellan's acting was, as usual, spectacular!
The scenery, most of it the real-life venues of the book, was spectacular and enchanting. After reading the Da Vinci Code and now seeing the movie, I am more determined than ever to visit the Louvre and to learn how to speak French! The paintings in the films backdrop, though we only get quick glimpses of them, add a rich and ancient dimension to the aesthetic experience.
As in the book, some of the codes are quite predictable, not so mind-bogglingly difficult to crack, and the movie can be slow in parts. I would perhaps have liked to see a LITTLE more character come out in Hanks (Langdon) although I think Ron Howard was very weary of making this The Da Vinci Code and not a 'Tom Hanks movie' so I understand why this didn't happen. Overall, I thought the book was adapted to film excellently. Even my husband who hasn't yet read the book and is a hard-edged critic when it comes to movies, was impressed. You feel as if Ron Howard has been faithful to Dan Brown's original, and hasn't just gone off on a tangent of his own, which often happens in a novel-to-screenplay adaption.
I would advise anyone, particularly those who have read the book, to see the film, but PLEASE see it at the cinema, otherwise you miss an amazing part of the experience.