Movie Monday: Parade's End

Parade's End

When opportunity arises, I feature Movie Monday. I recognize few people have the time or desire to read the amount I do, especially when it comes to the 100 Best Novels list. Luckily, Hollywood loves adapting a classic and I love a good story in any form.

Film Title: Parade's End

Book Title: Parade's End

Release Year: 2012

Summary: Christopher Tietjens stands in love triangle with his perpetually unfaithful wife, Sylvia, and a young family friend Valentine. Meanwhile, WWI erupts and the world becomes a wholly unrecognizable place. 

What I Thought: While the book took me months to get through, the BBC miniseries condensed the story delightfully. Besides, anything starring Benedict Cumberbatch becomes infinitely more appealing.

I still have largely the same feelings about the plot and characters as I did after reading the novel. As often proves true with books of this era and style, the introduction of a visual interpretation helped me some. Overall though, I still found the story drawn out and the characters unlikable. I will say, I enjoyed Valentine so much more on screen. I really like Adelaide Clemens, though I have not seen too much of her work. We just started watching Rectify and she plays my favorite character on that show.

I thought the cinematography was the best part of this adaptation. The director, writer, and cinematographers were so intentional with their decisions. It is evident they wanted to create a visual work equal in skill and execution to the written original. Plus, I am such a sucker for art disguised as entertainment.

Watching the miniseries gave me a greater enjoyment of Parade's End, if not a greater appreciation for it. I still understand why it proved so groundbreaking in its time and still struggled to connect to it.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Will I Re-Watch: Unlikely

A Reduced Review: A beautiful adaptation of a story I still find mediocre in spite of its historical impact.