A Separate Peace (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Peter Yates

Writers (WGA):

John Knowles (novel)
Wendy Kesselman (teleplay)

Release Date:

12 SZEPTEMBER 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Four friends with one dark secret they could never outrun.

Plot Keywords:

Student | Roommate | Leader | Schoolteacher | Tribunal

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

J Barton	...	Gene
Toby Moore	...	Finny
Jacob Pitts	...	Brinker
Danny Swerdlow	...	Leper
Aaron Ashmore	...	Chad
Adam Frost	...	Harry
Matt Austin	...	Rach
Sean McCann	...	Dr. Stanpole
Alison Pill	...	Beth
R.D. Reid	...	Farmer
Hume Cronyn	...	Professor Carmichael
Colin Fox	...	Professor Fitzwinkler
Lise LeBel-Wagner	...	Mlle. Lebecque
John Bayliss	...	Mr. Radford
Linda Goranson	...	Mrs. Carmichael

MPAA:

Rated R for brief strong language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

German | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13 | UK:12 | Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Punch Productions

Trivia:

Hume Cronyn's final film

Goofs:

Continuity: The first time Finny goes to climb the tree, as he starts up, he has a wristwatch on. As he climbs higher, the watch disappears.

Movie Connections:

Version of A Separate Peace (1972)

Great casting, but fails to tell Knowles' story.

"A Separate Peace" is one of my favorite books. An absolutely horrible film version was made of it in 1974, so I knew Showtime's updated version was virtually guaranteed to be an improvement. An improvement it is... but it could - and should - have been much better.

First the Good: Finny has got to be one of the hardest parts out there to cast. The part calls for natural athleticism and tremendous charisma – a truly rare combination (especially in actors). Toby Moore was inspired casting. I have no idea who he is or where he came from. He had an almost impossible task, and he nailed it. The actors who played Gene and Brinker also performed admirably. If it had a script that stuck to the actual Knowles' story, this film might have been something very special.

Now to the Bad: Knowles' story is much more than a story about adolescent friendship and betrayal. It is about how a person can only find peace within himself when he is forced to face his own darkness. Finny, who knows only love and forgiveness, seems to be the only exception to this rule – and because of that, he is destroyed by his best friend. By the end, Gene makes peace with Finny and finally finds peace within. The writer and director missed much of these key elements. Important scenes are brought to life beautifully, but we never really get inside Gene's head, so we can't understand how or why he achieves a 'separate peace.'

The writers also decided to omit the other key theme of the book: Finny as a representation of peace in world at war. While Finny talks like he was rearing to go to war, he in fact is unable to do so - because of his leg, but also because it is not possible for him to hate (as Gene describes in the final 'you'd be terrible in a war, Finny!' dialogue). Alas, none of it makes it into the film.

All in all, it was great to see a terrific performance by Moore as Finny, as well as some great scenes from the book brought to life (The Headmaster's Tea, The Winter Olympics, The Trial). However, I will still have to wait for a film to be made that is true to the spirit of this American classic.