Review of Love in the Time of Cholera (2007) by Darren H — 11 Aug 2008

The book is wonderful, Marquez is a true word-smith.

The film was never going to be as good as the book and I was fully prepared for that - however I was not prepared for it to be as bad as it was.

I understand that through adaptation some elements would be lost however the film is series of brief snapshots of the book whereas the original tale is a brooding, smouldering story that meanders through 50 years of our protagonists lives.

The casting was poor, I am a fan of Javier Bardem however it seems that the Director/Caster wanted him in regardless of suitability. The young Florentino was far too upbeat, a young buck rather than the pallid, shy and dare I say creepy, obsessive creature that Marquez's character is. The switch from young Florentino to Javier Bardem after Feminas trip of 1yr/2yrs was stretching the realms of disbelief - from a young teen to mid 40's!!

John Leguiziamo is no Lorenzo Daza - he was far too dandy whereas the book had Lorenzo as a course, brutal individual of questionable repute.

Virtually no attention was paid to Urbinal's affair - we are merely told that it happened but apart from that we are shielded from the details.

So much that was so relevant was omitted from the film which has led me to wonder if Mike Newell actually read the Book or whether he just worked from the screen play - either that or he totally missed the point.

Whilst its impossible for me to fully imagine what this film would be like for someone whose not read the book I can only assume that the lack of detail and the snapshots of the time line would render it quite confusing.

The film lacked the warmth of the book and I personally would have preferred it to be in Spanish with subtitles.