love in the time of cholera (film)

hard on the heels of completing the book comes the film
the few reviews i had read had been quite harsh
one in particular warning those that loved the book
should basically brace themselves for a disappointing film
but i decided to shelve the reviews and go with an open mind
the absolute very first impression from the very first scene
was that of a homecoming - we meet the talking parrot
after which the doctor collapses and dies as in the book
and from that point on the film is as expected very true to the story
other first impressions were that the director had a big budget
lots of shots of sprawling marketplaces, lush gardens and large houses
people dressed to the nines in their fine and ample clothing
on the other hand the first major fault came fairly quickly
it seems almost unfair to criticise a period film for this
but the opening scenes with fermina daza as an elderly lady
showed a relatively young actor (giovanna mezzogiorno) with bad makeup
she was not the beautiful, elegant, breathtaking lady i wanted to see
however the still lovesick florentino ariza as an old man
played by javier bardem was much more convincing
just so far removed from the last big role in an old man film
we then went back to the 1880's where the love affair is born
and another major fault is soon thrust upon us
the young florentino is played by another actor of similar age
but the young fermina is the same actor playing the older woman
that may seem a trivial point but it seemed inconsistent
especially when the young actor is swapped out for javier bardem
the transition is quite jolting for the actors are quite physically different
once we get past that the ageing process is handled quite well
benjamin britt as fermina's doctor husband is well cast
playing the handsome, successful, insensitive cad with comfort
their relationship ebbs and flows quite true to the book
though time constraints mean we only see the big important scenes
which is probably natural for a film coming from a novel
but in this case that seems to have been a goal rather than a problem
my feeling was that each scene was too isolated from each other
probably days of work setting up each scene by director mike newell
with the actors seemingly using the book and not any screenplay
i very definitely felt the director was assuming the audience had read the book
for there were too many cases of unexplained events and situations
occassionally there would be a voiceover (florentino) to assist
but better to have done that more fully or not at all i felt
the 2 hours plus of the film went quite quickly as there is a lot to cover
in the end i sat there wondering how could it have been done better
couldn't help but conclude the use of unknown actors may have done it
even have it filmed in native spanish with sub-titles
get it back to the way originally written
but hollywood got their hands on it
must have been a bit of a no-brainer
36 millions copies sold = instant audience
i wanted to enjoy the film as much as the book
it successfully transported me to the place and time
but once there i had to keep plugging gaps
rather than be completely absorbed by the film
which would be a real problem if you hadn't read the book
so for me not the major disappointment i was warned of
but not an overwhelming experience either
still - wouldn't have missed this film
recommendation - do them both