Flawless in every conceivable way

Rating: 10/10 (12 May 2018)

This is my very favorite book. Cliched, I know, but it's a classic for a reason. I read it freshman year of high school and immediately fell in love with the story and the characters. We were meant to watch the movie after reading the book, but we didn't get around to it, and at the time, I was glad. At the time, my experience had led me to believe that movie adaptations of good books are rarely good enough to live up to my expectations, and nearly 10 years later, I still believe that when it comes to most books. But after having to watch this movie in a film class in college, I was forced to admit that this is not always the case. This movie is flawless. It perfectly captures the tone and spirit of the book, the casting was absolutely perfect, the score is amazing and well timed, the emotions are real and vivid. This deserves all the accolades it gets and many many more. I only wish I had seen it earlier. While the book continues to be something I come back to time and time again, this is a rare case when I actually feel comfortable watching the movie instead of rereading the book if I want to save time. It's (almost) just as good. It certainly comes closer than any other movie ever did to capturing the subtle perfection of a novel. There's a reason that this is one of the few movies that is this old and Hollywood hasn't yet tried to remake it. I hope they never do.