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  Film: Nell Schofield previews Love in the Time of Cholera and 21 May 18, 2008 Reporter :Nell Schofield  Watch our reportFilm: Nell Schofield previews Love in the Time of Cholera and 21 It’s been twenty-three years since the publication of Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s best-selling novel ‘Love In The Time of Cholera’. And up until now, no-one has dared to attempt a screen version. But with the Vice President of Colombia on his side, British director Mike Newell has stepped up to the plate and taken on the daunting challenge. Gabriel Garcia Marquez describes a “magical and sensual city’ somewhere in Colombia as the setting for his much-loved, epic novel ‘Love In The Time Of Cholera’. For his ambitious film version, director Mike Newell has chosen the picturesque northern seaport of Cartagena. And he’s cast Oscar winner Javier Bardem as the tragic Florentino Ariza and Italian actress Giovanna Mezzogiorno as the woman he dubs his ‘Crowned Goddess’. Florentino is a man “struck by the lightening of love and burnt beyond repair” - at least, that’s how he describes his condition. Over the course of half a century he pines away for Fermina, who initially shared his affections but after being whisked away by her defiant father, and wooed by a sophisticated doctor, had a dramatic change of heart. Benjamin Bratt from TVs ‘Law and Order’ is the dapper Dr Juvenal Urbino who wins the hand of Fermina despite her flirtatious cousin’s efforts to distract him. And Catalina Sandino Moreno is absolutely delightful in that role. Unax Ugalde is sweet as the besotted young Florentino, pledging his eternal fidelity and everlasting love. And Bardem is suitably uncomfortable as the softly spoken character, aging over time into a man described as more of a shadow than an actual person. But despite his ghost like demeanour, or perhaps because of it, Florentino manages to clock up no less than 622 sexual conquests while waiting for his true love to come around. The daunting task of wrangling Garcia Marquez’s sprawling novel into 139 minutes fell to Ronald Harwood who won an Academy Award for his screenplay for The Pianist and who’s been working on Baz Luhrmann’s Australia. He also penned the script for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and perhaps if these characters spoke in their native tongue as they did in that exceptional film it would’ve felt more authentic. But lovers of the novel are bound to be disappointed by this movie which, despite the lavish production values, struggles under a burden of sentimentality. Another best seller that’s just been translated to the big screen is ‘Bringing Down the House’ by Ben Mezrich. Retitled 21, which is the magic Blackjack number and also the age of it’s protagonist, the film tells the true story of how a bunch of maths whizzes at Massachusetts Institute of Technology made a fortune counting cards in Vegas. British actor Jim Sturgess plays Ben Campbell, a brainiac of the highest order who’s recruited into a gang of like minded number crunchers headed up by their Math Professor Micky Rosa. Kevin Spacey, who also produced the film, is like a wicked snake as the teacher who seduces his students with the irresistible charm of greed. And Kate Bosworth who worked with Spacey on Superman Returns is the hottie of the A team, Jill Taylor, who revels in her many varied disguises. It’s A Beautiful Mind meets Oceans 11 until Laurence Fishbourne steps in as an old school loss prevention enforcer and busts their game wide open. Australian director Rob Luketic, who helmed Legally Blonde, brings his slick pop touch to this flash piece of work, only going overboard in one scene when he pans off a pair of lovebirds onto a massive spurting water feature. But working alongside cinematographer Russell Carpenter who won an Oscar for his work on Titanic, he probably couldn’t resist a bit of aquatic action. There’s a nice sting in the tail of 21, but there’s something about it that rings slightly hollow. Ben might be driven by his need to raise $300,000 for his Harvard student fees but he does some pretty stupid things with the cash and ends up so far from his goal it’s not funny. For the rest of the gang it’s just greed that’s motivating them and that’s not a very endearing emotion, even in Sin City. Still, there’s a lot of gloss on this deck that’s bound to win over younger audiences and maybe even prompt a flurry of math homework. Parents and casino owner: beware. |
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