The Frame

I watched this only a few days after I read the book, which is usually a mistake, and this was no exception. The book was amazing, and all the way through I was thinking what I’d do to make it into a film, and then I watched the film (which has a good pedigree, being directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, and Oprah Winfrey), and it just wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. Spielberg indulged his sentimental side, adding in scenes that aren’t explicit in the book to try to make it more affecting (instead it’s just more maudlin). More than that even, it was just too long. When I read the book it felt incredibly short–I couldn’t stop turning pages and then it was over before I was ready. But the movie felt very, very long. The actors all did a fine job; mostly I’m just on old Steven’s case about this. And perhaps seeing it again with some distance between it and the book would help.
Average