By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: John Crowley
Starring: Ansel Elgort | Jeffrey Wright | Nicole Kidman | Oakes Fegley
Country: united_states
Year: 2019
Running time: 149
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3864056
Thom says: “This film was adapted from the gigantic best-seller of the same name by Donna Tartt. When my brother Chuk and I had taken our previous cat Mandy in for a check-up I remember the lady veterinarian and Chuk raving about the novel as there was a goldfinch picture on the wall of the examination room. When I learned that the magnificent Nicole Kidman would be featured I was especially excited about viewing this. John Crowley has composed an admirable curriculum vitae since 2003, directing the noteworthy INTERMISSION (2003), BOY A (2007), IS ANYBODY THERE? (2008), & the excellent BROOKLYN (2015) so my hopes were more raised. This ended up being the absolute wrong time to watch the film. I had a friend over for a fun night and we picked THE GOLDFINCH because it was one of the only films Chuk wanted to watch. The story is about a boy who goes to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with his mother. A terrorist bomb goes off in the museum and his mother is killed. In the ongoing confusion after the attack the boy steals a valuable work of art in “The Goldfinch” that he secretly keeps to himself. He’s take in by an Upper East Side wealthy family and the film follows his life up to adulthood with its various happenings, friendships, & manifestations. While never questioning the excellent talent t hat went into the production of this film Chuk’s constant harangue at the lack of relevancy to its source made my enjoyment of the film spiral out of control. Moreover, the current craze of films going back & forth in time was used strongly here, also leading to confusion. So I apologize for this fractured review. 3 cats“