Ellipsis, this is the word that came to my mind when I watched the movie. It means parts of a text which are missing and that is exactly what the movie fills in. I have always been a staunch believer that movies no matter how brilliantly made can never match up to the book. I guess providence does not give us a chance to say never. The film in every way fills up the gaps that the book leaves in your mind. On reading the book you are left with a yearning to be a part of the story, and the movie does just that, it brings you closer to Count Almasy, Katherine and Hannah in an inseparable way. Somehow it makes their love, passion, devotion, sadness and happiness all the more tangible in a way (and I am deeply unhappy to say this) the book does not.
The book, though a Booker prize winner moves in flashes, with uncertain randomness, as if the author added some parts as an afterthought and maybe that was his intention, we’ll never know. The film however does not fall prey to that, with each reminisce of Count Almasy’s being very intricately woven into his present. It is extremely apparent that the director has read the book many times and clearly mapped where to fit each piece of the Count’s past into his present. The cinematography is breathtaking, extremely fluid and creative, playing with the harsh desert sun and the cool nights in an extraordinary way. I am never one to observe too much or read too far into technique, but some frames leave you gasping, like the early shot of the Count looking out of the cloth covering his face.
The performances are par excellence. Fiennes is a magician, for only he can contort his face from a smile to a grimace in the blink of the eye. Miss Thomas is exactly what is expected of her and Binoche far exceeded my expectations of Hannah. The background score of the movie plays an important part almost like an invisible character, heightening the moments between Almasy and Katherine and giving them a distinctive hue. There are some scenes in the movie that are just embedded in one’s memory, like the lovemaking scenes between Almasy and Katherine, the scene where Katherine leaves Almasy, the one where Kip takes Hannah to the church to show her the paintings and lastly the one that shows Katherine after she has died, this scene is so beautifully shot, it seems as if she is sleeping peacefully.
After watching the movie, I was wrought with the desire to see them together (as is the feeling with all tragic love stories), to see them happy, playful and cheerful. In my selfish mind, the villain (poor Colin Firth) was also dead and their togetherness seemed so much within reach. I so much wanted them to live and then I realized that they do………..
