I remember seeing this film opening weekend in high school. I went with a few friends because our English teacher had assigned the book. None of is "cool" kids wanted to read it so we decided to do the report based off of the film. Well we all failed because the film really has very little to do with the actual novel. It's sort of a combination of the scarlet letter and the film versions of last of the mohicans and the crucible with some added eroticism. Unlike most people I don't think it's a bad film. In fact there's stuff to appreciate. It's stylishly filmed with a decent performance from Gary Oldman and some unique interpretations of the material. But ultimately it feels hollow. It lacks the passion, subtext and substance of its inspiration and only succeeds in being entertaining sometimes in a so bad it's good way and other times it's generic approach ends up being quite decent. All in all it's a overly mediocre but entertaining adaptation of the book that's ultimately forgettable.
Budget: $50m Box Office: $10m
3/5
Budget: $50m Box Office: $10m
3/5