A History of Violence
May. 20th, 2009 07:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calzephyrThis is one of those rare times when I can say a movie is definitely waaaay better than the book. I was quite excited to pick up the graphic novel at the library, and it was great for a while, except...except...except...
...all these little niggling things that the movie did so much better. For one, the artwork doesn't suit the story at all. It's sketchy and just too hasty. Another thing is that in the book Tom's family is quite accepting of his past, while the movie was much more realistic. The movie follows the book pretty faithfully up until the second part, where Tom's past is revealed. One doesn't really see those events coming! The second half of the book was just too fantastical for my liking. I'm glad I saw the movie first, because I probably would never have seen the movie!
And speaking of, I heard a similar story on Old Time Radio, but I forgot to jot the program or actors down. It involves two mobsters that stop at a gas station and "mistake" the cashier for the pal that crossed them and coincidentally, the cashier has the same name as Tom's alter ego, Joey. Fortunately the mobsters end up getting caught in a snowstorm, so he doesn't have to deal with them. It was quite a good plot, and different as well - one of the rules of Old Time Radio more or less is that the criminal never gets away or goes uncaptured by the law. I guess the cashier must have redeemed himself enough :-)
...all these little niggling things that the movie did so much better. For one, the artwork doesn't suit the story at all. It's sketchy and just too hasty. Another thing is that in the book Tom's family is quite accepting of his past, while the movie was much more realistic. The movie follows the book pretty faithfully up until the second part, where Tom's past is revealed. One doesn't really see those events coming! The second half of the book was just too fantastical for my liking. I'm glad I saw the movie first, because I probably would never have seen the movie!
And speaking of, I heard a similar story on Old Time Radio, but I forgot to jot the program or actors down. It involves two mobsters that stop at a gas station and "mistake" the cashier for the pal that crossed them and coincidentally, the cashier has the same name as Tom's alter ego, Joey. Fortunately the mobsters end up getting caught in a snowstorm, so he doesn't have to deal with them. It was quite a good plot, and different as well - one of the rules of Old Time Radio more or less is that the criminal never gets away or goes uncaptured by the law. I guess the cashier must have redeemed himself enough :-)
