REVIEW: The Goldfinch Never Takes Flight
The Goldfinch, painted by Carel Fabritius in 1654, survived for hundreds of years in the hands of multiple owners. It has seen much over these many years and is the focus of Donna Tartt’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same name. Warner Bros. releases the film version Friday, September 13, unfortunately, this is a story that should’ve remained in book form.
The film starts with 13-year old, Theodore Decker (Oakes Fegley), who steals The Goldfinch painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art after his mother was killed in a bombing at the museum. Theo tells no one that he has the painting. Not the Barbours, the family he goes to live with after his mother dies, not his father (Luke Wilson) and step-mother (Sarah Paulson), who upend his life in New York and relocate him to Las Vegas, and not even his friend and antique owner, Hobie (Jeffery Knight). The film follows the ups and downs surrounding Theo as he grows from boy to man (played by Ansel Elgort). The only constant Theodore has in his life during these years is this painting, but it seems the painting may not have been that constant at all.
Having not read the book, the film was approached with an open mind. However, after seeing this movie, I’m not inclined to pick it up. The movie is simply too long and too disjointed. Everything seemingly wong in Theo’s life and how he attempts to handle these demons take center-stage. Frankly, the film is boring. It plods along and only becomes interesting in the last 20 minutes of it. Even then, there isn’t enough good story to warrant real interest.
Elgort plays adult Theo and is fine; there is nothing exciting about his portrayal of the character. Nicole Kidman plays Samantha Barbour, the head of the family that takes Theo in. Kidman is excellent, as always, but the relationship between Samantha and Theo was just a little too weird. The lone shining moment was Sarah Paulson’s portrayal of Xandra. It was fun to watch Sarah play this character and bring a little humor to the movie.
If you are heading out to the movies this weekend, pick another movie. If you feel like you must see this movie, watch it in the comfort of your own home, where you can turn it off if you want. It is not worth the price of a movie ticket to sit through.
Grade: D