Flick of The Day: High Fidelity

Adapting a classic novel for the screen is a difficult proposition. If you swerve too far from the source material, you alienate the core fanbase. On the other hand, if you are too slavish to the material, the film doesn't stand on its own two feet as a work of art. There is of course a happy medium and today's flick of the day, High Fidelity, is a pitch perfect adaptation of Nick Hornby's wonderful novel.

High Fidelity

Rob, played by the terribly likeable John Cusack, is breaking up with his girlfriend Laura. He begins to think back through his relationship failures over the years, in the hope of gaining insight as to why Laura left him. While he works through these in flashbacks, Rob expands on his life as the owner of a poorly located record shop, Championship Vinyl, where Rob and his oddball staff played by the brilliant Jack Black and Todd Louiso spend their days talking music, compiling top 5 lists and generally treating their customers poorly. Rob comes to realize that each of his failed relationships had a different cause and that he isn't doomed to be dumped. Ultimately Laura wants more from the relationship then Ron had been prepared  to give and to Rob's horror moves in with uber-annoying hippie Ian, a wonderfully over the top performance from Tim Robbins. Can Ron and Laura work it out?

This really isn't your standard rom-com about a man with relationship trouble who happens to own a record store. It is so much more. It is a film about people who put popular culture at the centre of their lives to the detriment of everything else. Rob's problem is that he still lives like a teenage boy, obsessed with music. It is very true to the source novel, despite shifting the action to Cusack's native Chicago. You don't have to a music snob to enjoy the film but there are plenty of in jokes to satisfy the trendy obscurists. The Beta Band sales drive is a personal favourite and overall there is a lot of humour. Jack Black makes the most of his turn as the obnoxious Barry, capturing perfectly the character Hornby wrote.

                                              Barry's Customer: Hi, do you have the song "I Just Called To Say I Love  You?" It's for my daughter's birthday. 

Barry: Yea we have it. 

Barry's Customer: Great, Great, can I have it? 

Barry: No, no, you can't. 

Barry's Customer: Why not? 

Barry: Well, it's sentimental tacky crap. Do we look like the kind of store that sells I Just Called to Say I Love You? Go to the mall.

Stephen Frears is of course an old hand at this kind of thing, having adapted two of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown trilogy for the screen amongst other things. In short there is much to enjoy here.

The film, of course, is possessed of a great soundtrack with literally hundreds of songs and snippets of songs slipped into the film. It illustrates Rob and his friends obsession and carries the film along nicely.

Rob: I can see now I never really committed to Laura. I always had one foot out the door, and that prevented me from doing a lot of things, like thinking about my future and... I guess it made more sense to commit to nothing, keep my options open. And that's suicide. By tiny, tiny increments.

All in all, a great film adaptation of a classic novel. Of course the novel is still more enjoyable and better somehow but this is as fine an adaptation as I have seen in awhile. The script and the characterisations are perfect. Cusack excels as the man-child, while Jack Black plays the ignorant clown better then anyone else. If you haven't seen it, check it out.

Flick of The Day: Fever Pitch

Before Colin Firth became the actor du jour in Hollywood with A Single Man and The Kings Speech, he was a jobbing British Thespian combining TV roles and theatre with the odd  feature thrown in for good measure including some fine work as the definitive Mr Darcy in Pride & Prejudice for the BBC and starred in today's film, Fever Pitch.

Fever Pitch

A very loose adaptation of Nick Hornby's best selling account of his life as an Arsenal fan. Hornby fictionalised his story into an account of Arsenal's 1989 title chasing season, creating the character of Paul Ashworth, ably played by Firth, a teacher at a North London comprehensive school. The film opens with the school year as a new teacher joins the staff, Sarah Hughes played by Ruth Gemmell. Initially appalled with Paul's obsession with all things Arsenal, they soon become an item. From extended flashbacks to Paul's childhood in the 60's and 70's, we begin to see the root of Paul's obsession. How his divorced father tried to use football as a means of making a connection with an increasingly disaffected Paul and how it gradually grew into the most important thing in his life above all else including his work and personal relationships. There are some fine supporting performances from the likes of Neil Pearson as Paul's dad and Mark Strong as Paul's best friend.

The film is different enough to the book to stand on its own feet and be judged accordingly. As such it is a fine account of the obsessiveness of football fans, capturing the raw spirit and passion of fandom. Firth is excellent, giving an understated performance. It is at its best in these scenes, including an excellent scene showing the madness of the terraces set to The Who's "Baba O'Reilly" climaxing in the Hillsborough disaster that in many ways changed football in England forever. 

All in all, this is an excellent film, funny, wise and true. It captures the nature of obsession, and is one of the best accounts of sport I've come across. It also has one of the great climaxes, with Paul and Sarah's relationship reaching a critical juncture as Arsenal are within touching distance of the title. In and ending so theatrical, you couldn't make it up, Arsenal must beat Liverpool 2 nil in the final game of the season to win the title. Its well worth a look if you get the chance.