Amid war-shattered London, three extraordinary people play out their lives in a haunting novel of love, passion and violence...Halloran, the reckless American bomber whose fiery affair with the Englishwoman gave him something to live for. Sellinger, the mild-mannered British agent who risked his live trying to prove himself to his wife. Margaret, the woman they both loved. Beautiful, brave, unforgettable--she was torn by her desire for the two men.
***
Written by Maureen Gregson, based upon a screenplay by Peter Hyams. This is a good novelization for a film that has a good cast—Harrison Ford, Christopher Plummer and Lesley-Anne Down—and a great music score by John Barry. The screenplay by director Peter Hyams is the weak link here, with some major plot points poorly handled. There is also a tonal problem with the film, as it wobbles unsatisfactorily between old-fashioned love story and action film.
Still, the film is not uninteresting. Harrison Ford shows glimpses of the action star he would become. The bombing raid sequences are well done via miniatures. The film obviously had a big budget and it looks like it all made it on the screen. Despite its faults, it still makes us care about the lead characters.
The novelization fleshes out much more than the movie can, and as a result the story plays out more naturally. We learn more about everyone, and war-time London is described with reasonable realism. The script's big issues are still weak here--Harrison Ford snapping on his final flight still seems awfully unmotivated, for instance--but I ended up liking the novel more than the film. Your mileage may vary, of course.
No comments:
Post a Comment