This was Robert Towne's dream project. Lets consider other recent dream projects: Peter Jackson's King Kong, Oliver Stone's Alexander, Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York. None of these films were a success. Robert Towne's Ask The Dust is no exception. The film failed to get wide release and the critics did not rave about it. I saw this film at a premier in Minneapolis. Robert Towne was there to answer questions and such. He said for himself "I'm not sure if I like this movie or not. Ask me again in five years."
That said the movie isn't entirely a disaster. It's a fairly interesting story about a down and out of luck writer, Bandini. He falls in love with a beautiful waitress, Camilla Lopez. However, he struggles with being in love with a Mexican as much as she struggles with being in love with him at all. People are always confusing Bandini with a Mexican because of his last name. (He is actually Italian). This is a film more about race than anything else. It's an interesting side note that Towne's last name wasn't always "Towne" Robert Towne is Jewish. And Towne is not a Jewish name.
The actors are fine. The cinematography is exceptional. However, aside from the base plot this is a very distracted film with too many side stories, some of which are interesting enough. The film is faithful to the novel, but I'm not sure why. Ask the Dust is a wonderful novel with many literary qualities. It's a good read, but it's not a screenplay. Unfortunately, Ask the Dust is another film the exemplifies the facts that a faithful adaptation is rarely an intelligent choice. And that dream projects seem to sink more often than not. Ask the Dust is an inventive novel, the film is a fine adaptation. And that is precisely the problem.
That said the movie isn't entirely a disaster. It's a fairly interesting story about a down and out of luck writer, Bandini. He falls in love with a beautiful waitress, Camilla Lopez. However, he struggles with being in love with a Mexican as much as she struggles with being in love with him at all. People are always confusing Bandini with a Mexican because of his last name. (He is actually Italian). This is a film more about race than anything else. It's an interesting side note that Towne's last name wasn't always "Towne" Robert Towne is Jewish. And Towne is not a Jewish name.
The actors are fine. The cinematography is exceptional. However, aside from the base plot this is a very distracted film with too many side stories, some of which are interesting enough. The film is faithful to the novel, but I'm not sure why. Ask the Dust is a wonderful novel with many literary qualities. It's a good read, but it's not a screenplay. Unfortunately, Ask the Dust is another film the exemplifies the facts that a faithful adaptation is rarely an intelligent choice. And that dream projects seem to sink more often than not. Ask the Dust is an inventive novel, the film is a fine adaptation. And that is precisely the problem.