| Captain Corelli's Mandolin |
Take a well-reviewed novel about a wartime romance, add stars, a name director and you should have the recipe for a successful motion picture like the Oscar-winning epic THE ENGLISH PATIENT, right? Well, in the case of CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN, that, sadly, is not the case. Whereas Anthony Minghella did a masterful job in adapting Michael Ondaatje's complex novel for the screen, Shawn Slovo's efforts are merely adequate. By streamlining Louis de Bernieres' novel Corelli's Mandolin for the screen, Slovo has captured merely the basics of the story and omitted many crucial aspects. One glaring example would be that the sexual orientation of a character isn't mentioned, which robs his on screen actions of their poignancy and importance. Other key points were altered in the interest of screen time and dramatic license, but without the desired success. Admittedly, de Bernieres' fiction of a wartime romance between an Italian soldier and a Greek woman set against an atrocity would not lend itself easily to a film adaptation. The novel utilizes multiple narrators and points of view, and spans some fifty years. Corelli's Mandolin might have fared better as a television miniseries. Instead, it has been shepherded into a feature film by director Roger Michell. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete the project due to ill health. (He reportedly suffered a mild heart attack just before pre-production.) Assuming the reins was John Madden, the Oscar-nominated helmer of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE whose other film efforts, from the rather bland adaptation of ETHAN FROME to the flawed, if well-acted MRS. BROWN, hardly marked him as the man who could pull off this complex effort. Madden does what can with the material, but the script and several ill-advised casting choices have doomed this film. Perhaps it would be best to first mention what the film does get right: the superb cinematography of Oscar-winner John Toll captures the pristine beauty of the Greek isle of Cephallonia, Stephen Warbeck's lush musical score, and the acting turns of veterans John Hurt (although his Greek accent waivers a bit) and Irene Papas. Christian Bale cuts a handsome and dashing figure as Mandras, the illiterate Greek fisherman turned resistance fighter and adds spark to his role, which has been significantly changed from the novel. The other principals, however, are miscast. Nicolas Cage can be an interesting performer when given strong material, but as Captain Antonio Corelli, he is reduced to a caricature, a stereotype of the good Italian soldier, who gets drunk, enjoys singing and clearly would prefer to be anywhere else. Indeed, Corelli and his men here seem to have stepped out of the Oscar-winning foreign film MEDITERRANEO. Over the course of the film, Cage's accent doesn't grate as much as it does in the trailer or film clips, but he seems too contemporary and reserved to be the life-loving figure depicted in de Bernieres' novel. Penélope Cruz is one of those actresses like Cate Blanchett who can look plain or ravishing depending on the lighting and camera angle, and that occurs in this film. In her Spanish-language performances, the actress has proven her range and versatility. In the handful of English-speaking roles, though, she has proven less effective. While she tries to project a smoldering intensity, Cruz has rarely connected on screen with any of her leading men (from Billy Crudup in THE HI-LO COUNTRY to Johnny Depp in BLOW to Matt Damon in ALL THE PRETTY HORSES.) The same occurs here; she and Bale throw off minor sparks, but her character is not meant to be fully in love with his. Cruz has zero chemistry with Cage and as theirs is the film's central love story, that lack destroys the underpinnings of the film. Rating: C MPAA Rating: R Running time: 127 mins. |
| © 2008 by C. E. Murphy. All Rights Reserved. |