Several months ago I read John Fante's
Ask the Dust, a novel about a struggling writer in 1930's L.A., one of the first significant literary works by an Italian-American. The protagonist, Arturo Bandini, was the author's alter-ego in several books. Last night I caught up to the 2006 screen adaptation written and directed by Robert Towne, a highly successful screenwriter whose work at the helm has been undistinguished. It is very faithful to the novel until the last half hour, although, understandably, it leaves out a few elements. The bartender's role is the most reduced. The real difference occurs when the narrative moves away from the difficulties of young love and to the romantic tragedy of fare like Alexandre Dumas' (the son)
Camille and Erich Segal's
Love Story. I prefer the mystery of the novel's ending. I doubt a serious artist like Towne was thinking about how to make the project more commercial. If that was the case, it didn't work, as the film brought in less than two and a half million worldwide. I was unable to find how much it cost to produce. I'd be surprised if the price tag was exorbitant, despite the period sets and the 1933 Long Beach earthquake sequence. And as talented as Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek are, they do not command the salaries of top stars. I thought Hayek was perfectly cast. Farrell's role was much more difficult, and there is something lacking in his performance. Two screen veterans made appearances in the flick. Donald Sutherland added to his impressive canon as the alcoholic down the hall, as did Britain's Eileen Atkins to her own as the owner of the boarding house. Idina Menzel does a good turn as a psychologically damaged beauty who briefly enters the writer's life. That was my favorite part of the book, not so on celluloid, being usurped by my interest in Hayek. 8000+ users at IMDb have rated
Ask the Dust, forging to a consensus of 5.8 on a scale of ten. It's appeal is strictly for fans of Fante and Towne, and to those interested in how a book is translated to the screen. The film falls even shorter of greatness than the novel. Here's a still of the leads:
My thanks to the gentleman who purchased
The Power of Positive Thinking: 10 Traits for Maximum Results by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, first published in 1952; and to the young woman who, gym bag in tow, bought
Fit for Life by Harvey Diamond and Marilyn Diamond, first published in 1985.
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