'The Goldfinch' Movie (2019)

I meant Nicole KIDMAN. Eek!

Looking forward to this. Couldn't get through the book. Maybe I will try again this summer.

IT LOOKS DULL.

This looks boring as fuck. It’s probably a film you have to watch in the theater since if you watch it at home you’ll pause it a bunch of times over the course of five days and never end up finishing it.

I adored this Pulitzer prize winning novel, one of the few about a motherson relationship. Can wait for the movie.

Is there anything left of the story they managed not to show in the trailer?

I tore through this book; read it nonstop for days and loved it dearly as I have other Tartt books. Now watching this trailer I realize I remember almost nothing of the story. I remember the reading of it better than what I read. Weird.

Agree with R4, though I'm here for Welsh cutie Aneurin Barnard.

r8 I was just about to ask who that guy was in the trailer. He's handsome.

Is there pc diversity casting going on in this?

[quote]Starring Nicole Kidman, Sarah Paulson, Finn Wolfhard, Ansel Elgort, Luke Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Denis O'Hare.

r10 Six out of seven most known actors in this are white. So you tell me if there's "PC diversity casting" going on.

R6: The novel is long long long, so yes, there are things that there are not in the trailer

R10: It's good to have diverse cast, but i don't think every movie has to show how diverse is the USA. His best friend is russian, but i don't think it counts as ethnic.

For white writers it's becoming really absurd, if they focus on themselves and memories of their chilhood there are a good possibility that the cast of characters is not very diverse so they are accused of not having non white characters, but poor of themselves if the main character is not white because in that case they are accused of cultural appropiation

Any one of Nicole Kidman, Ansel Elgort, Luke Wilson or Dennis O'Hare would make me avoid a movie.

I remember loving the book but there's around 300 pages of boredom where they just get stoned all the time.

I thought it was going to be a mini series.

r15 It was being shopped around as a potential miniseries back in 2013, but obviously no one went for it.

I was looking forward to this enough for me to overlook my dislike of Elgort. But I don't know this trailer really put me off. It just seems so bland and generic. The song choice certainly doesn't help.

[quote]It just seems so bland and generic.

r17 I feel like that's Elgort in a nutshell and the movie would have been better with someone else in that role. He kills the whole vibe for me.

Wasn't there a gay element to the story or have I misremembered?

r19 Maybe this?

[quote]Finally, Theo comes home to New York to live with Hobie—the homosexual but largely sexless Hobie, a gentle older man who offers neither family (aside from the brief, painful glimpses of Pippa, Theo’s unrequited love with whom he feels a permanent, painful bond) nor aimless freedom, but something in between.

Now would someone please convince Tartt to allow a movie to be made of "The Secret History" please?

R7, same here, I can't remember anything about the book except the kid and the painting. I'm trying to picture who Kidman plays...and I can't remember any major older female character.

I liked the book, as imperfect as it was. But the desert part was my favorite part and that part alone could be one film. I can't imagine how much of the book must have been omitted or condensed to make it into one film. I always thought Tilda Swinton should have been cast. Now that I see that the marginally talented and unphotogenic Sarah Paulson is in the film, I will wait for the reviews and comments here before I decide to watch the film.

What is this movie even about?

Theo and Boris have drunken sex a few times. It's mentioned in passing in a kind of experimenting way.

r18 Elgort certainly doesn't help. But just in general this trailer manages to dampen any interest I might have in the other performances. The entire part from about 00.40 to around 01:15 nearly had my eyes rolling out of my head for how tropey it makes the story seem.

What you talking about, R23? Sarah Paulson is a fine actress, hardly "marginally talented". And I think Nicole Kidman has proven herself to be very talented. As for Ansel, I like him.

Hope it's better then the book, could barely get thru it, so dull

Ill anything with Nicole Kidman. She elevates every project she takes part in. We're lucky to have that artist.

R20: No, it was more than that Theo and Boris had sex, even if Theo didn't remember that (Boris tell him that when they met by the end of the novel). In fact Boris kissed him in the lips when Theo leaves Las Vegas

R9 His last big picture was 'Dunkirk,' but he works more frequently in smaller stuff in the UK.

I thought it was suggested Theo and Boris were kind of in love with each other. They were pretty much left to their own devices and only had each other.

I get Ansel Elgort confused with Taron Egerton and vice versa; are we sure they aren't the same person?

R22, Nicole plays Mrs. Barbour, the matriarch of the family that takes Theo in.

As best I recall after having read the book, the protagonist is not a cataleptic somnambulist. Apparently the director took liberties with artistic license. This looks like an excellent sedative and seems not to have captured a single bit of the book's spirit.

If you write a thousand more posts just like that, R35, you could put all of DL to sleep.

I was already half asleep under the grey cloud of the trailer, R36. Sorry to spread the malaise.

It's probably a top 10 book for me, so I'm skeptical but this trailer makes me a bit more hopeful.

If only Aneurin had the lead role rather than Mr. Blandings McBlanderson.

Oh, I hate those Bloomingdale's people movies!

Ansel? Stop trying to make Ansel happen.

OH boy. PIECE.O.CRAP.

R41: But curiously he is the most successful of the young actors, unlike others he had critical acclaim (Baby driver) and a good bunch of box office hits, while most of the others only have success on box office or in a few cases critical acclaim.

So it's understable that he keeps getting good roles even if he is not everybody's taste (and has some bad reputation, while that reputation is reduced to gossip he will be safe)

I adore Donna Tartt's books, and this is the best one. I cannot wait.

[quote] and a good bunch of box office hits

r43 What's he starred in other than "Drive 2" that's been a commercial success?

Could they have selected a more insufferable cast?

Edgar Wright’s directing was the star of Baby Driver, not Ansel. Can’t recall anyone singling out his performance.

Another passive, wistful Donna Tartt boy-hero, in love with an unattainable girl. This prototype made sense in the Secret History but became boring in The Goldfinch.

Tasteful....middlebrow....Oscar potential....boring.

R45: The fault in your stars was a big hit, and Baby driver did very well. That's two more hits than any of the other young actors who were nominated to a big award

Loved the book.

The woman playing mum isn't pretty enough.

I didn't get thsy Hobie was gay in the book? I remember Theo thinking he was seeing the old society woman.

I also didn't get that Theo and Boris had sex, just remember Theo being uncomfortable about him cuddling him in bed.

Hobie is indeed gay, but sexless. I assume O'Hare plays the role and that Luke Wilson plays the boy's neer-do-well father.

Elgort may have been in two hits, but STARS was based on a YA novel with a big following and I doubt he was a major reason for DRIVER'S success. I find him bland next to Lucas Hedges and Chalamet.

[quote]Starring Nicole Kimdan

I haven’t liked anything she’s done since she broke up with Tom Crusie

r53 You can't make that joke if I've already noticed and corrected the mistake. It's in the bylaws, sorry.

R51 I think it was suggested Theo and Boris used to jerk each other off when they were high or drunk. I definitely remember their relationship being a lot more intimate than a normal heterosexual friendship. If I recall correctly, it wasn't that they were fucking every night, but that they were horny teenagers who'd experimented with each other a few times.

I love this book and the audiobook is a masterpiece. The movie cast is just WRONG.

You can, r54, if the mistake was egregious enough in the first place, and this one was. Check Section 5, Article 23.

r57 How are two letters switched an egregious mistake? It happens all the time when you're typing fast, though I don't know why my spell check didn't catch this one. It's usually so good with names.

I loved the book. I read it non-stop in one weekend. I liked it more than The Secret History which I found dull and still have not finished. Agree that the Las Vegas part is one of my favorites, Theo spend his time getting stoned with Boris and getting in all kinds of trouble and it's quite funny.

The painting is the last and only connection he has with his dead mother. I saw the trailer and it had me in tears. The only part that turns me off about the movie is why they cast Ansel Eghort, not one of my favorites actors. I don't know if the movie will capture the sprit of the book since it's mostly Theo and his thoughts racing in his head.

Tartt's best book is The Little Friend. Fight me.

Theo was an insatiable bottom.

Ansel Elgort’s name is as annoying and ugly as he is.

The book is far from perfect but I found it quite engaging for what it is: a Dickensian novel transposed to a post 9-11 United States. I also learned more than I never wanted to know about furniture restoration. It wasn’t as engaging as “The Secret History” but quite a feat of the imagination.

Who is playing his mother?

I those get the middl e hundred pages of the book dragged. Everything set in NY was great. My friend was an extra in the bombing scene. Said it was freezing and miserable. It was 45 degrees and they kept spraying them with cold water. Only the main characters were allowed near the heat lamps.

I loved this book and I'm looking forward to the movie, even though I'm not a huge fan of Ansel. I pictured Rachel Weisz as the mother and Laura Linney as the society matron.

So when will A LITTLE LIFE be adapted?

[quote]So when will A LITTLE LIFE be adapted?

I would imagine that movie would be too bleak, joyless and depressing to watch. I can't even make it through the book. And I've tried twice.

[quote] I pictured Rachel Weisz as the mother and Laura Linney as the society matron.

That's who I pictured too.

The book was amazing. And a Pulitzer Prize winner. So looking forward to this movie didn’t know if Ansel's was cast correctly but so far the trailer looks promising. The thing that gets me with him is he’s not the best looking actor or the most talented but family connections go along way. I could’ve seen other actors in the role such as Lucas Hedges, Cody Christian, Jeremy Irvine.

Yes, Theo and Boris had some kind of relations for sure. Toward the end of the book when they're reunited in Amsterdam, Boris even mentions it to Theo and says something about it being no big deal since they were young boys.

I wasn't crazy about the book, but I managed to slog my way through it.

The Secret History was an incredible novel. The rest of her stuff....nope.

I'm listening to the book now. Theo's dad has just re-entered the picture. I have not gathered Hobie is black or gay. PC casting.

R52: Hedges and Chalamet are way more talented than him, that's for sure (and probably better people too, because Elgort gives douche vibes non stop) but that wasn't the point, he was in box office hits (no matter if he was the main attraction or not) and he had some acclaimed work, so indeed he is the only actor of his generation who enjoyed both, box office success and critical success, so it's understable that (even some people find him very annoying) he gets good roles

Gwyneth should be playing the society matron. Its only natural.

R72 If you hadn't gathered Hobie is black or gay, why should it matter? If it's not explicitly stated in the story, it's not important.

It's not a huge leap to suggest an old bachelor living on his own restoring furniture might be a homosexual. Have a look around.

r75 -- The book says Hobie has long hair that flops into his face and he ties back. It says his father owns a nationally famous trucking company. These two salient facts do not suggest back to me.

The so far has not given any indication whatsoever to Hobie's sexual preferences.

Please stop trying to defend PC casting that strays from the author's words.

" So when will A LITTLE LIFE be adapted?

I would imagine that movie would be too bleak, joyless and depressing to watch. I can't even make it through the book. And I've tried twice."

Good for you. I made it through the book and it's time I will never get back.

Yanagihara is a sadist

R76 OK so he might not be black in the book, but it doesn't change the story to have a black actor play the part.

His long hair falling into his face doesn't affect the plot or his relationship with Theo.

It's not as if they've turned him into someone instrumental in the Black Panther movement, or that the Hobie in the book was a member of the KKK. It's just a black actor playing a fictional character. Grow up, you racist.

[quote]So when will A LITTLE LIFE be adapted?

Never, one hopes.

Fans of Donna Tartt (as well as Bret Easton Ellis and Jonathan Lethem) may find this article interesting.

R79: Do you will say the same if a black character on a book is transformed in an asian on the film or only white characters can change their race?

R82 Having Hobie be played by a talented black actor isn't PC casting. It's casting a talented actor in a role where his race isn't important.

He's an old man from the modern day who restores furniture in NYC. He's not King Henry VIII. That would be PC casting.

No R83

Hobie explains his childhood and background in the book and he obviously isn't black.

R84 Does that make a difference to his relationship with Theo and what that means to the story?

Unless they've made him some kind of black rights activist figure in the film, there's no difference if Hobie is played by a black or white actor.

Neither of us have seen the film yet, but I doubt very much they'll have changed his character so much from book to film that having a black character portray him will do the disservice to the book you seem to think it is. I don't think the Hobie from the film is going to be some Rastafarian smacked out on pot the whole time or some drug-dealing gangster from the projects. Though I'm pretty sure you'd prefer that as it'd give you something to really get offended about.

I'm far more offended by R82's weak grasp of the English language than I am by Warner's choice of Jeffrey Wright to play the role of Hobie.

R86: My english is very bad, maybe because it's not my first or even second language, and it was a legit question (that you didn't answered) not something to be offended

R87 I understand English might not be your first language and am willing to overlook any grammatical mistakes you might make, but you've not managed to make any point other than HOBIE CANNOT BE PLAYED BY A BLACK ACTOR BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE IT.

R88: No, that's not true, what i asked is if it's ok to change the race of a literary character just for the sake of it, or if it's only ok if the original is white, it's a very simple question. And i have no problem with Hobie being played by a black actor i just simply don't get the point of changing the race of a character apart of making the cast more diverse.

And we have plenty of examples of that recently from Love, Simon to The passage. And it's always the same, original white character, black character in the movie or tv show, never an asian, never a latino which would make the cast diverse too (and both latinos and asians are even more infrarrepresented).

And maybe you don't have such a problem with my terrible english, but even if i write in a lot of english forums (and i can assure you i write as bad as i write here) never found such animosity at my low level as i found here

If it's a great book, why bother watching the film? Rarely are good books improved upon.

R90: This is a book difficult to get into a good film, it's very very long.

And instead of changing the race of character HW should try to make films with black characters in the original novel. There are a lot of amazing black writers with great novels to make a good film (and the same with asian and latino writers)

Jeez. R76, are your robes clean for your next meeting??? Damn. At least try and hide your racism.

R89 You've been asked several times why it isn't OK to change the race of a character when it isn't an intrinsic part of the story. You've ignored that question again and again.

The Goldfinch is set in the modern day. It's not as if they've blacked up Queen Victoria or Miss Havisham. Hobie's character isn't set in race. It's about him being an old lonely father figure to him. That figure could be black in the modern day. This isn't Driving Miss Daisy or Green Book.

The story isn't set in the midst of race tensions or anything like that. Having a black actor play Hobie is completely irrelevant. He's a great actor and I'd rather he play Hobie than someone less talented just cos they might be white cos Tartt suggested at one point some hair flopped onto his face. You stupid racist.

If the race is not that important what's exactly the reason to change it?

I agree that making Hobie black don't change the storyline, but it doesn't add anything either.

And calling people racist when it's obvious this is pure PC is ridiculous. There are amazing books with black characters but HW doesn't make films about them, they simply change a secondary white character and that's all.

This is like the stupid black James Bond discussion (in that case is even worse because it's pushing american politics in a british character)

Diversity casting r94. Fends off potential criticism. Brownie points during award season.

It's gonna be a movee folks. Just a movee.

R94 Where are you from, may I ask?

R97: Spain.

Here the diversity is really needed because there's no tradition and the country changed a lot in recent years. There was a protest because the black character in Angels in America was white in a theatre adaptation (even if they apologized from the beginning because they couldn't find a black actor for the role).

Recently things are changing and there are more non white (even we are latinos for most of americans) characters, and there a lot of storylines to explore because inmigration is a relatively new phenomenom here.

And i'm not against diversity in casting at all, but in my opnion it needs to be organic. If you have a character whose race is not important made an open cast and just chose the best actor for the role.

And i'm a big fan of some afroamerican writers, from Colson Whitehead to Jesmyn Ward, and i would love to watch adaptations of their work. And the same for Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie or Marlon James.

What i'm not a fan is this type of cosmetic changes for the sake of it, in my opinion it's like when they have a gay character only to get some publicity on the gay media but they are not going to use him/her at all

Filmmaking is a commercial venture r98. Rarely organic. But I'll marry you anyway

It's like a more grounded Wes Anderson movie. Blech. Pass

Who cares what race Hobie is. I read the book and hardly remember who he was and his history doesn't make a difference. Now if they made Theo another race, that's a different matter. The fact is that they hired a brilliant actor who emits the qualities Hobie has-- his compassion, his kindness. Jeffrey Wright is perfect for the role.

I love Tartt but this always seemed to me like unfilmable material. Maybe a limited series but her prose is so baroque (in a good way) for a contemporary writer that it would be extremely hard for any director to do it justice.

[quote] Hedges and Chalamet are way more talented than him, that's for sure (and probably better people too, because Elgort gives douche vibes non stop)

Yeah, Elgort gives me douche-bag vibes, he has a face I'd like to slap and I was disappointed when he was chosen. Both Chalamet and Hedges would have made a perfect Theo. Maybe that's why they made him wear eyeglasses in the role, to make him look more sympathetic. I was also envisioning Adam Driver in the Boris role, a kind of Russian asshole.

Elgort isn't the worst. They could've tortured us with someone like Miles Teller. *shudder*

R104: Well, it seems Teller is not the it boy of the month anymore (fortunately), maybe he should learn that he is not good looking and talented enough to carry that attitude

I must admit his recent instagram snafu makes Elgort more endearing. You would think Elgort is more social media app savy.

R106 There's a BI that says it was not intentional, he just didn't know how to use the app so he posted the pics by mistake

hence the word snafu.

Elgort recent IG posts I hope we’re an accident cause they were cringe worthy. Looks like he has too much time in his hands now that his high school longtime girlfriend has moved out on her own.

I got the impression Theo grew to be very attractive simply by the number of rich, pretty girls he can get and that he was able to have an affair with an older woman when he was 16.

Is this Ansel considered sexy?

Could someone please briefly summarise what happens after the fancy engagement party? My friend lent me the book but I'd only got this far when I had to return it. Thanks if anyone can x

Loved this book and Secret History. The Little Friend is underrated. I read it when it came out and I liked it, but I read it again a couple of years ago and loved it. I grew up in the South and I *know* those people. Some passages and phrases still pop into my head. It would (could?) be a great movie.

The Secret History really needs to be an HBO or Netflix mini series.

Hey R85 who assumes I am offended. Lets hear what you have to say when they change a black character to white in a film for "diversity". Why so nasty, just pointing out what the book says. You know, the book the movie is supposed to be based on. Why change it?

What is your deal, R112. Why can't you let it go? You're starting to sound as if you really are racist.

Please someone reply to me instead of this race casting argument x

That oral history of Bennington linked above almost deserves its own thread. Great read--I wanted to go there so bad when I graduated high school in 1987, but I figured they'd never accept someone from a small Mississippi town. Then a few years later TSH came out and I found out Tartt had done just that!

If I could turn back time...

r23 - Paulson is OK - can be goo if conditions are perfect but must be great script with director who caters to her and someone/something to iimitate

I watched a half hour of The Fault in Our Stars today. It wasn't interesting enough to finish, though my not being a fan of Shailene Woodley's voice may have been the biggest factor in my closing it down. Ansel Elgort definitely profited from being his father's son. He's no more interesting than any random CW star. He's not bad looking. He's just not very interesting.

I get what the poster is saying about PC casting but I think it just depends on the story.

I was totally taken out of “Mary, Queen of Scots” with that diversity casting, but recently watched “Les Miserables” on PBS and Javert being black didn’t take me out of the show which I found quite good.

New trailer.

Nicole in that old-person makeup, damn.

r119 The music and cut of the trailer still makes this look so overwrought and melodramatic. It looks like something you'd see on Hallmark.

It looks like traditional Oscar bait from the early to mid 00s. A real Stephen Daldry picture, but it's not directed by him. Roger Deakins' cinematography is respectably prestigious. I actually like that National song. I don't buy a single moment of Ansel's performance and I wish they'd gone with a less self conscious actor. Is Finn Wolfhard affecting some type of accent? Is he gay in this picture? Ain't read the book, but I know it's acclaimed.

It be a good film except for the gratuitous stunt casting.

It be a good film except for the gratuitous stunt casting.

R121: I don't know, and oscar bait can fail big time like Billy Lynn's long halftime walk. It's amazing how Ang Lee could make a good film of a mediocre novel like Life of Pi, but was unable to do the same with a great novel like Billy Lynn

The Goldfinch is a mastodon, unless they were able to do a great job with the screen play it could be a total disaster

At least they are showing the kiss, i thought they would skip that part

r121 Boris (Wolfhards character) is meant to be Ukrainian, and honestly after Elgort, casting a young actor from Vancouver who seems to be doing some sort of bad Gypsy impression for the character is my main casting concern. Since they've only let him say one sentence in two trailers I don't have high hopes.

I loved the book. But the star? He does not seem good looking at all, what's with that?

Could we have a moratorium on Kidman playing the mother of anyone younger than 21. Thank you.

Ansel Elgort::::::cant look at his homely mouse face....hells no

old Nicole is bad enuf.

Tis a mystery how he got the role....mus be hung and the producer or director went....oh yes.

I wanted to love this book as much as I love the painting (it's my wallpaper on my iPad), but it certainly was a long slog at times. The film may be better.

How come wonder boy ( Timothée Chalamet) didn´t get this role?.

Agreed, could have been cut by half, but I figured it would be a great film, So disappointed to see mr Elgort is in it, that role deserves a real actor, and good lookin one would not hurt... he reminds me of some 3rd tier extra on the set.

Tim would have been fab, instead of that boring history shit he in.

Does Nicole ever take time off? She must be the hardest working bitch in Hollywood, I swear.

yes, she continues, alas, to spoil every movie she haunts, if only she would retire early and stop ruining cinema which she touches .

This film looks like outdated Oscar bait.

I just finished listening to the novel yesterday. It was a slog.

She could have ended it several hundred pages earlier before she finally sputtered to a navel-gazing close.

I'm not a movie goer so I doubt I'll ever see the film. And I doubt I read another Tarrt novel after this one.

Does the mother have a big part? She dies kind of early in the book. I can't stand Nicole Kidman. She always plays late 30's early 40's and we know how old and frozen she is.

R138 Yes, that's going to have to stop sometime soon ,I should hope. Her hair has never looked better in OP's pic.. wondering if it's a wig (not to be bitchy or anything)

Kidman is a movie dud, cant stand that lady....overexposed.

Kidman doesn’t play the mother.

Nicole is beautiful.

I love Nicole. I don't understand the hate she gets here.

she is an udder who does not deserve to be milked even if she is about to explode...

when I see Egbort's face I long to smush a mud pie into it.....cheerfully !

I enjoyed the book most before it jumped years into the future. The Theo of the last part wasn't very likable and I really didn't like the spoiled brat he was engaged to.