That’s a lot of stuff to get through, and consequently McGregor’s handling of it ends up very superficial, ticking off scenes from the book and using the hoariest of cultural signifiers – newsreel footage of civil unrest, Buffalo Springfield on the soundtrack – to try and capture the feel of the times.
A noteworthy debut.
The film, of course, isn’t a patch on the book but that could have been predicted right from the outset.
The actor’s heavy-footed directorial debut, in which he also stars, is an odd, tortured drama of postwar domestic tragedy.
It is the beginning of a nightmare that McGregor depicts with professionalism but his film doesn’t strike sparks or linger in the memory.
Ewan McGregor struggles to put his own stamp on this adaptation of Philip Roth’s Pulitzer-winning novel.
It’s hard to begrudge such an earnest endeavour, but this is missing the wit, nuance, and insight of a book thought by many – correctly, maybe – to be unadaptable.
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee from Friday November 11, 2016, until Thursday December 1, 2016. More info: www.dca.org.uk
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Friday December 9, 2016, until Tuesday December 13, 2016. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/
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