Scott Kimball
Screenwriter
- Joined
- May 8, 2000
- Messages
- 1,500
A Separate Peace
Studio: Paramount
Year: 2004
Rated: R
Length: 92 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Closed Captioned
Special Features: None
Suggested Retail Price: $24.99, USD
Release Date: February 8, 2005
How does one take a 200+ page novel and turn it into a 90 minute film? One doesn’t - at least not while keeping the themes entirely intact. Peter Yates (Bullitt, Murphy’s War, etc.) directed this uninspired film adaptation of John Knowles’ classic coming of age story - this, the second unsuccessful film adaptation of this story. This 2004 film version was made for cable and aired on Showtime.
This is a story about teens, seniors, at a New England prep school in the 1940’s, each of whom is sweating the draft. Some choose to enlist, some don’t - each has his own reasons for his choice. The story most closely follows two roommates. Finney (Toby Moore) is the outgoing, carefree athlete. Gene (J. Barton) is his more uptight friend.
Finney and Gene have an odd relationship, with little trust and an abundance of jealousy. The two seem to be polar opposites. The problem with this film adaptation is that the introduction of the characters is so lacking that we can’t understand the characters motivations or understand their actions. The entire first act is disjointed. The scenes are all too brief, and separated by time, allowing for little natural flow to the character’s development. This is problematic in a character driven piece.
By the time we begin to understand the motivations of the key players, we are well on the way to the tragic event that defines the story. The event, though purposely vague in the novel as well (so I hear... I’ve never read the book), loses its power without a solid understanding of the characters involved.
The film is excellently cast with talented unknowns, who all perform to near perfection... if only they had the screenplay to back them up.
The Transfer
The video is brought to you in its televised aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The image is sharp and displays good contrast. Black levels are solid, with good detail in the shadows. Colors are mostly true and accurate, and well saturated. The only negatives to the video are occasional halos around high contrast transitions, and occasional moire artifacts in highly detailed areas. These problems are minor and unobtrusive.
The audio is offered up in Dolby Digital Stereo. Frequency response is good, and channel separation is pleasing enough. Dialog is consistently clean and clear. While there are no obvious defects in the audio portion of the transfer, the stereo soundtrack is adequate but unremarkable.
Special Features
There are no special features.
Final Thoughts
I’ve never read the novel that this film is based on, but having read about the novel, I have a strong feeling that there are things of substance missing from this adaptation. It’s too bad... there is a good story here - but it is watered down, thinned by a screenplay that pays short shrift to the themes of the original story. The film is bolstered by strong performances, and the DVD has an acceptable transfer of the source material.
