I guess, from all the hype I'm reading the last day or two, that the movie version of The Da Vinci Code premiers tonight. (I hate going to theaters so I rarely look for the release date of a movie). So far the critics are panning it mightily. At least they did in Cannes.

The reaction immediately after the first press screening at the Cannes film festival on Tuesday was mainly negative, with trade publication Variety setting the tone by calling the $125 million picture "stodgy" and "grim".

Many people in the audience at the screening laughed at the pivotal moment, and the ending was greeted with stony silence.

Why am I not surprised? I know they wanted to trade on the market success of the book, but that's the whole problem. Anyone who reads can tell you - few, if any, movies do justice to the book from which they are derived. Yes, there are many movies based on books, but the readership for those stories is generally confined to those who like the genre. In other words, most people who go to see the movie have not read the book and there's a good possibility that they've never even seen the print version of the story.

Unfortunately for the makers of this movie, the book has been a huge market success. It has spent an inordinate amount of time on the best seller lists, making it seem as if everyone has read it. I would be willing to venture at least 2/3 of the opening night audience will be people who read and enjoyed the book. (this assumes, you wouldn't waste your time with the movie, if you didn't like the book)

Unlike the Lord of the Rings trilogy which ventured in to the world of fantasy with quirky characters that weren't even human (for the most part), the Da Vinci Code is a story about a man, a woman, and a murder. There's no real oddities in the story that we have a hard time imagining. Plus, as it is a mystery, they've taken away the one true draw of any mystery - who dun it?

We already know the answer. If you've been watching television at all, or reading the internet, you can even skip reading the novel and get the full synopsis online.

Who wants to sit through a "mystery" where you not only know the end but all the events leading to the end?

Unless the performances are magnificent, and the script spectacular, it's a recipe for disaster.

The only way the script could be spectacular is if there were significant rewrites since the book itself is only so-so. We know this isn't the case because the media have gone to great lengths to tell us that the film stays true to the book. (maybe not such a good idea)

One other thought comes to mind, while Ron Howard has done some excellent films, he is no Alfred Hitchcock. Few directors do the "thriller" well, and no one has ever managed to outdo Hitchcock in that arena.

I wonder how well it will do at the box office. I have a feeling it will do well for the first weekend. Too bad they didn't release it over Memorial Day to get the extra audiences on that Monday.

But if it does tank - the way Mission Impossible 3 has done, will the movie execs be out in force telling us what a wonderful movie it is and why we should go see it? Will they be telling us what wonderful guys Tom Hanks and Ron Howard are? (as if that's a reason to waste time and money on a bad movie).

I think the Christian leaders of the world can relax. Untwist your panties. This movie is not going to have a lasting impact, except to give people something to talk about for a while before it sinks into oblivion.

Posted by: Teresa in Film at 07:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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