Fahrenheit 451 (Ramin Bahrani)

[Henry Gale]

IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360556/) / Wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451_(2018_film))

http://www.blackfilm.com/read/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Fahrenheit-451-poster.jpg

[Henry Gale]

I guess I'm putting it in the 2018 movie release sub-forum because it did play at Cannes and I had the unique experience of seeing this on the big screen at the TIFF Lightbox last night.

The film was also bookended by Bahrani in person talking about it at length with Norm Wilner, and I gotta say, I found his conversations (both related to the film and otherwise) were more fascinating and gratifying than the film itself. He is very open and honest about the obviously very daunting task of adapting this, and even talking about some inherent issues about setting a film about burning physical literature in a world where wireless internet, tablets and so many other forms of media and literate delivery systems exist, but I still think the film's attempts to acknowledge those elements aren't entirely successful, and it had me thinking about if/when this text is to ever be adapted again in the future, if it should move on from the idea of erasing books from the world. Just as the book is about books, where the fear of the story is the idea that the very thing your holding would be outlawed in the world it summons, should the film similarly be about film?

I think Jordan and Shannon are electric performers, and I really like Bahrani as a speaker and artist, but this didn't quite ever grab me as much as it probably should've. Despite shooting this in mid-to-late 2017, there is very little sense of it trying to reflect our current world and pull from the emotional and social climate of our times, aside from one potent back-and-forth of dialogue between Shannon and Jordan about the former's historical version of why certain texts were initially wiped away from the record that has more to say about our current state of cultural censorship and suppression of both past eras and our current one of works just because certain demographics don't agree with their content or worldview.

If only this version of Fahrenheit 451 was as provocative to stir a similar conversation or introspection beyond just that one scene. Maybe more thoughts later, as I might drop back in on a few scenes after it airs tonight, but I really wish there was more there to chew on, let alone feel has significant nutrition to it.

[Grouchy]

I'm a bit shocked by the overwhelming negative reaction to this. It's not a great film but it's a decent update of a great high concept that has some obvious problems working with current technology.

Like Gale, though, I found the scene where Shannon's character discusses the reasons for censoring certain books (like accusations of racism and misogyny) a more fascinating theme for Bahrani to tackle than Bradbury's original anti-McCarthy stand and wished more of the film focused on that contemporary ethical problem.

[Irish]

It's a terrible adaptation. They tossed out (no surprise) most of the plot and half the themes of the book and then inserted this generic sci-fi dytsopia in its place, complete with an even more generic "resistance" story.

I wasn't expecting much because no media conglomerate is gonna push an anti-media message movie but still. Considering this was made by an indie darling and starred a couple of hot actors, it was unbelievably bad.