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Reviews
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
Heart Wrenching
When I saw the only other user review so far was negative I couldn't resist writing one of my own. This a powerful story, and I disagree with the other reviewer both about its alleged pointlessness but also that it should have been set entirely in the context of Henrietta's life. This story isn't just about her; it's about what they took form her, and how she died, and how the medical world cloned her cells and used them to fix and fight all kinds of problems while in contrast she herself died of cancer and the hole that her absence left in her family's life. It's about the heartbreak her family has to live with everyday, without her, in a world full of people who (for the most part) seem more interested in making money from her than who she was or what she left behind.
I'm even more desperate to get my hands on the book now than I was when I saw the trailer and I am extremely disappointed that I didn't find it on the shelves of my local book stores and that I will be forced to order it online. I can't wait to delve into this story further and get further immersed in the details of it; I know movies (especially ones based on books) are frequently disappointing and too often pressed into the same stereotypical molds, so I am eager to see how the story unfolds in the book.
The Lovers (2015)
Confusing Film
When I saw the cover and description on Netflix I thought this was a movie about a man who travels through time and is kind of two timing by having a lady in each time he travels between.
A little bit into the movie, after the main character ended up in a coma I realized he wasn't traveling in time but may have been dreaming the past (uncertain, the connection between the two times is never fully established). Is it a past life? The rings are supposed to reunite lovers but don't quite seem to live up to the challenge.
Most of the movie is immersed in the past time line, and though there is a lot of cutting back and forth near the end of the film, the future hardly gets any screen time and the only connections between the past and the present are the ring(s) and the main character (or his soul? assuming he doesn't just magically look just like the other guy). I kept watching it waiting for the connection to click and it just doesn't get there.
A lot of people commented in their reviews about not finding out who D.E. was, but I figured it was pretty obvious that it was Dolly Egerton (and her shiny metal purse), but there is no explanation as to how she ended up with the ring(s) (and it looks like she never made it to America). I finished the film kind of wondering what happened at the end. Did the ring magically restore the past version of his soul or pull him back to himself or what? How did Tulaja get it there? Why didn't it reunite her with him? It seems like he didn't need to be in the past for it to work or for Tulaja to be there. The movie was interesting, but the end was all jumbled up an nonsensical.
Also I was a little disappointed in Tulaja's warrior skills. She started off the movie strong, but then she got drugged. And she spends a lot of time away from her queen while traveling. And she was ambushed in the swamp and screams and flees and gets stabbed. And they tossed her stuff while she was escaping and she didn't notice. And they stole her ring while she was sleeping. And she didn't catch them in time. She went from prancing down the face of a building and trying to fight with an arrow in her shoulder to crashing into a bush during her stealthy sneak attack (assuming stealth must have been the reason she ditched the horse and followed them on foot). She seemed much more capable at the beginning.
If I Stay (2014)
The Book Was Better
I went to an advance screening of this movie after I was hopefully misled by reviews that stated it was "close to the book" and seeing the author so obviously involved in all their social media publicity.
It does stay close to the spirit of the book in a sense, but they twist and distort a number of the scenes (not enough to change the story dramatically, but enough to annoy someone who loved the novel). I expected that to a certain extent; like the way they sort of wiped out the peripheral members of her family to focus on her love for Adam. I did not expect them to almost obscure Teddy's role from the story entirely. Even her scenes with Kim are limited to her discussing Adam. I should've expected them to up the drama by breaking her and Adam up and bumping her Julliard letter.
Tiny tweaks aside, one of the most disturbing things about the film was the lack of passion for the music. It's clear Mia has a stand in who can actually play cello (especially in her more animated scenes), and you can see Chloe actually striving for that sense of being lost in the music, but she clearly isn't there. Adam was a million times worse. As a frequent concert goer I expected a lot more energy and investment from his performances, but it's like he's gliding over them. These people are supposed to breathe music, it is the foundation of their relationship and what ultimately pulls them in different directions, but you just don't see it in the film. It's like watching puppets on a stage. It was awful. All I could think about was the sequel and how these people couldn't possibly perform at that level - they can't even manage to portray musically talented teenagers, let alone amazing adult musicians.
Even their love for each other seems a little bit put on. I expected Hollywood to force the story to fit their idea of a teenage romance, but they stripped the story of its soul in the process. The book is amazing and moving and you're not sure where it's going but the movie is just another cookie cutter romantic drama.