I loved the novel Mysteries of Pittsburgh. It took place in familiar surroundings, places I hung out, in a town I loved. It questioned mysteries that I'd questioned myself.
It's not certain if the passage of time or the changes wrought in adaptation brought about my dislike for this movie. After all, I first read the book some 25 years ago. But the film lacks so much in comparison with the book. It has none of the humor, none of the introspection, none of the sense of resolution or at least readiness at the end.
The acting does not help the situation, especially Sienna Miller, who as Jane, is basically a flat line. Art is nearly a flat line, strangely enough; as the lead he is not supposed to be. Sarsgaard's Cleveland attempts to compensate for the affectless performance of his screen-mates by wildly over-emoting. It's a valiant effort that almost works. And Mena Suvari is just pitiful as a sad stereotype that no woman with a shred of self-respect should ever have to play on screen or stage.
I'm sure it doesn't help my assessment that Chabon is one of my favorite writers and Pittsburgh is my beloved home city. But if I were you, I'd give this one a miss. The four stars are for cinematography Nick Nolte, and music, which were decent.
It's not certain if the passage of time or the changes wrought in adaptation brought about my dislike for this movie. After all, I first read the book some 25 years ago. But the film lacks so much in comparison with the book. It has none of the humor, none of the introspection, none of the sense of resolution or at least readiness at the end.
The acting does not help the situation, especially Sienna Miller, who as Jane, is basically a flat line. Art is nearly a flat line, strangely enough; as the lead he is not supposed to be. Sarsgaard's Cleveland attempts to compensate for the affectless performance of his screen-mates by wildly over-emoting. It's a valiant effort that almost works. And Mena Suvari is just pitiful as a sad stereotype that no woman with a shred of self-respect should ever have to play on screen or stage.
I'm sure it doesn't help my assessment that Chabon is one of my favorite writers and Pittsburgh is my beloved home city. But if I were you, I'd give this one a miss. The four stars are for cinematography Nick Nolte, and music, which were decent.