The Writer's Life 5/12 - Adapting

Book lovers would probably vehemently disagree, but I believe the film version of The Road (2009) is infinitely superior to Cormac McCarthy's novel, which won a Pulitzer. I disliked the unpolished third-person prose of the book and its monotonous dialogue. The film employs a smooth voice-over by the protagonist, a big improvement, and drops the monotony of the dialogue. Kudos to screenwriter Joe Penhall. The best aspect of the story is still the father's love for his son. Director John Hillcoat, an Aussie who specializes in music videos, and cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe captured the bleak post-apocalyptic landscape perfectly. Viggo Mortenson and Kodi Smit-McPhee, who was about 13 but looked younger during filming, are excellent in the leads. There are fine performances in small roles by accomplished actors: Charlize Theron, Garrett Dillahunt, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Molly Parker and Michael Kenneth Williams. The latter is a product of a Brooklyn housing project who has quite a career going - 97 titles under his name at IMDb, multiple appearances in many successful TV shows, including 51 on The Wire and 56 on Boardwalk Empire. The Road did not fare as well at the box office as it did in book stores. Made on a budget of $25 million, it returned "only" $27 million worldwide. I'm sure that total was bolstered significantly by DVD sales and rentals. 197,000+ users at IMDb have rated the movie, forging to a consensus of 7.3 on a scale of ten, which seems right on the money. I think fans of the book will not be disappointed. As far as adaptations go, it is very faithful. Those turned off by glum subject matter should pass. Here's a still of the leads, followed by a pic of the Brooklyn-born Williams:

The NY Post reports that in the past eleven years the post office is $65 billion in the red. One reason is that many folks have stopped writing letters in favor of emailing and texting. Another is the staggering costs of the pensions and health care provided to retirees. I doubt there's a solution to the problem. I mean, how much would the price of stamps and shipping have to be raised to close such a gap? It's just the maddening way branches of the government are run. I doubt even someone with the business acumen of President Trump could turn it around.

Kudos to the jury that found NY pol Sheldon Silver guilty of corruption. Let's see if it will be overturned on a technicality, as was his first conviction. Of course, there will be an appeal. What are the chances of his ever doing any time? As Mountain Man says whenever he visits the floating book shop: "Politics is legalized theft."

I couldn't have been luckier today. It was raining while I caught up with some chores in the AM. The only chance I had to open the book shop was an open parking spot near the scaffold. There was one available. since the rain had stopped and the covered area was fairly dry, I took a shot rather than go home and do a crossword puzzle. My thanks to the gentleman who bought an art pictorial in Russian, and to the Latino gentleman who pulled up on his bike and purchased $25 worth of CD's and DVD's, despite the fact that I told him I couldn't vouch for their quality. Having done plenty of business with me in the past, he took the risk. Gracias, amigo. 

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