02-09-2023, 08:22 AM
Sucked in by the cast of Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman, we watched this slow examination of the creative writing process. Nothing is more thrilling than watching an editor red pencil a manuscript. Jude Law, Laura Linney, and Guy Pearce are also in this examination of what it means to be an editor to a talented writer.
Firth plays Max Pierce an editor at Scribners book publishers. Pierce has a huge corner office and his editor salary affords him a big country estate complete with servants. I really need to go back to the 1930s and be an editor. It doesn't hurt that Pierce edits the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. But the movie starts with the arrival of a new artist Thomas Wolf played by Jude Law. Wolfe is all frantic mannerisms and mile a minute patter as his ideas seem to flow rapidly from brain to mouth without cease. Wolfe fully expects to be rejected but Pierce sees something in the work and agrees to work with Wolfe. Wolfe is immediately given an advance, like they do in the book business, and they agree to start work the next day. Nicole Kidman Mrs. Berenstien, a highly unstable actress, plays the lover and initial muse to Wolfe. She's kind of this wierd adjunct to the story popping up and being crazy.
What follows is a long, so long exploration, of the relationship between Pierce and Wolfe. There are scenes of Pierce red lining the manuscript. We get to see Wolfe maniacally attack his own work with a pencil at the behest of Pierce. Pierce can be seen reading the works of Wolfe on multiple trains trips out to his country house. Through it all Wolfe never wears a different outfit and Pierce never takes off his hat whether he's inside or not. He even wears it while eating. The hat finally comes off it a final touching moment.
It's very hard, I think, to depict a creative process like writing, but that's what they attempt to do. I'm going to say they did not do a very good job of it.
No sword fights.
Firth plays Max Pierce an editor at Scribners book publishers. Pierce has a huge corner office and his editor salary affords him a big country estate complete with servants. I really need to go back to the 1930s and be an editor. It doesn't hurt that Pierce edits the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. But the movie starts with the arrival of a new artist Thomas Wolf played by Jude Law. Wolfe is all frantic mannerisms and mile a minute patter as his ideas seem to flow rapidly from brain to mouth without cease. Wolfe fully expects to be rejected but Pierce sees something in the work and agrees to work with Wolfe. Wolfe is immediately given an advance, like they do in the book business, and they agree to start work the next day. Nicole Kidman Mrs. Berenstien, a highly unstable actress, plays the lover and initial muse to Wolfe. She's kind of this wierd adjunct to the story popping up and being crazy.
What follows is a long, so long exploration, of the relationship between Pierce and Wolfe. There are scenes of Pierce red lining the manuscript. We get to see Wolfe maniacally attack his own work with a pencil at the behest of Pierce. Pierce can be seen reading the works of Wolfe on multiple trains trips out to his country house. Through it all Wolfe never wears a different outfit and Pierce never takes off his hat whether he's inside or not. He even wears it while eating. The hat finally comes off it a final touching moment.
It's very hard, I think, to depict a creative process like writing, but that's what they attempt to do. I'm going to say they did not do a very good job of it.
No sword fights.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm