What a colossal waste of time. I voraciously read the book. It was a masterpiece in storytelling and character development. I couldn't put it down. Best book I've read in years. The movie is a total disaster. Awful acting all around aside from Nicole Kidman (Mrs. Barbour) and Jeffrey Wright (Hobie). The young and adult versions of Theo were painful to watch. Theo's childhood in Las Vegas is an amazing part of the book but it's reduced to about ten minutes of confusion in the movie. It is hard to find two young actors who can accurately portray alcoholic druggies and the actors who played Theo and Boris failed miserably. I just didn't believe their close bond at all. If I hadn't read the book I would have been totally confused by this whole movie. Scenes just thrown together. Great scenes left out entirely. I was really looking forward to the movie and am so disappointed with the result. Better direction and a better lead actor could have made all the difference.
Review of The Goldfinch
