I loved the book, but I am not sure that any director could make the translation to film that captures both the lyrical and compelling nature of the book.
Scott Hicks goes for lyrical and he certainly delivers. The cinematography is beautiful, the pace reverberates in space and time. The characters are painted with pointillist precision.
The difficulty is that pointillism is pretty but lacks resolution. There is insufficient time to develop the characters. The urgent and desperate nature of the defendant's plight is lost amongst the beautiful cedars.
Still, if you enjoyed the book then I would recommend seeing this movie.
Scott Hicks goes for lyrical and he certainly delivers. The cinematography is beautiful, the pace reverberates in space and time. The characters are painted with pointillist precision.
The difficulty is that pointillism is pretty but lacks resolution. There is insufficient time to develop the characters. The urgent and desperate nature of the defendant's plight is lost amongst the beautiful cedars.
Still, if you enjoyed the book then I would recommend seeing this movie.