This is an advance review out of the Toronto International Film Festival. The Goldfinch opens in the US on Sept. 13, in Australia on Sept. 26, and in the UK on Sept. 27.
The Goldfinch is maybe the most eagerly anticipated literary adaptation of the year. Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has sold millions since its publication in 2013, piling the pressure on this film version. And while it’s sumptuously shot, and filled with big stars delivering fine performances, the movie never quite gets under the skin of the book’s rich tapestry of characters, resulting in a feature that’s never quite the sum of its sizable parts.
Both the book and film kick off in an Amsterdam hotel room, with protagonist Theodore Decker (Ansel Elgort) downing prescription drugs, knocking back the contents of the mini-bar, and dreaming that his mother is still alive. Yet where in the book he then recounts his tale in relatively linear fashion, this film version – adapted by Peter Straughan and directed by John Crowley – choses to whip back and forth in time, cutting between 13-year-old Theo (Oakes Fegley) and the more mature version we now find confused, alone, and fearing for his future.
Source: IGN.com The Goldfinch Review