I caught the last hour of this on cable last night. As others have said, it was one of the most unfortunately cast movies ever made. None of the actors manage to sound like they are from 1940's Louisiana. They don't even sound like they are from modern day Louisiana. Hell, Jude Law doesn't even manage to sound like he's from this side of the Atlantic. (He really doesn't sound like he's from anywhere. His accent is an amusing mash of tongue-injury patient and idiot.) Sean Penn doesn't even pull off a believable performance. Of course, I'm of the belief that no one really acts like Sean Penn outside of the movies anyway.
The cinematography was mediocre. Several shots faded between black and white, washed out smudge-tones, and color. I think this was a way of telling us we're watching a novel. It looks about as stupid as it sounds, and instantly ruins your suspension of disbelief.
Finally, Kate Winslet's character, for whatever reason, maybe it's not her fault, who knows, isn't very sympathetic or attractive. I thought part of what made the book work so well was the readers natural attraction to Anne Stanton. It made you realize that yes, Jack really is a bastard and it allowed you to appreciate Jack's growth. His relationship with Willie is the catalyst that allows him to move from his boyhood relationship with the judge to his mature adult relationship with Anne. Willie isn't just a funny Southern politician, he's a force within humanity that mature moral people have to face. This movie did not, and could not, face him.
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"Crappy movie adaptations are conceived in iniquity; they passeth from the stink of the didee to the stench of the shroud." - Robert Penn Warren
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