Film Snail

The Goldfinch
The Goldfinch

7.2

The Goldfinch

R·2019·149m

Summary

A boy in New York is taken in by a wealthy family after his mother is killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In a rush of panic, he steals 'The Goldfinch', a painting that eventually draws him into a world of crime.

Crew

Director

John Crowley

Novel

Donna Tartt

Screenplay

Peter Straughan

Reviews

narrator56

narrator56

May 7, 2021

This movie apparently had a firestorm of mixed reviews and comparisons to the Pulitzer Prize winnings book swirling around it - and I missed it all. Thankfully.

I enjoyed the movie, though it wouldn’t make a list of my favorites. It is told by jumping forward and backward in time, which allows filmmakers to withhold key or dramatic details of the plot as long as possible. This seemed stunning and revolutionary way back when I watched Pulp Fiction, but now of course a lot of movies play with event sequencing. (I suppose one of the foreshadowing of this technique was Citizen Kane, like, what the hell does Rosebud mean?)

So I am comfortable knowing that some things may take a while to make sense. This movie is all over the place: geographically and plot-wise, but I was fine with it. Sometimes I like a movie that dares me to pay attention.

Given the hysterical nature of some of the negative reviews, I feel I might want to read the novel, but I understand it is rather long, and so is my reading list!

I would say that if you aren’t a person who hates movies made from your favorite books, give this one a watch - just let it wash over you. My final comment is: I really like the Boris character, who drops into the action a couple of times. Where is his movie? Hmm, maybe he shows up more in the book. Sigh, okay, it goes onto my reading list.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$40,000,000.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Keywords

new york city
based on novel or book
museum
painting
art
bombing
teenage protagonist