BEWARE OF SPOILERS

Friday 1 March 2013

Dolan's Cadillac (film) - 21st Feb 2013

Why? Seriously, though. Why?

Why do I read Stephen King novels/stories and then watch film adaptations? I know there are some exceptions that don't need to be listed here, but there are so many more that just didn't need to be made. Maybe that's not entirely true. Some of them work well enough on their own, when compared to other films of their quality and production value. For example, I've seen Dolan's Cadillac likened to an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and other stories described as perfect for The Outer Limits. Now, that's all well and good. It's just, when you read Stephen King, you don't ascribe the movie in your mind with the production value of a 70's TV mini-series. That's being a little unfair towards Dolan's Cadillac as it's a pretty good looking film and, while Christian Slater and Wes Bentley are no longer the big hitters they once were (moreso Slater), they're not shit.

And neither is Dolan's Cadillac shit. It's not great and, as a fan of the story and Slater (yep, you heard), I really hoped it would be. One thing that threw me was that, having heard Slater was in it and looking no further into the film until it came through my letterbox, courtesy of Lovefilm, I'd assumed Slater played the part of Robinson. So fully formed was this assumption - made before I'd even read the story - that I read it with Slater in mind. I'd got him looking all harried, sweaty and balding like he did in the film He Was A Quiet Man. Error on my part. Or maybe theirs.

Stephen King film adaptations are a bit like when you go out to eat and have something that blows your mind. Then you have a go at making the dish yourself and it may range from a passable imitation to an inedible mess or on those rare occasions, you nail it or make something not quite the same, but due to the quality of the ingredients and the skill/luck of adaptation it's just as mind blowing. Most of the time, it just won't be as good and you'll realise that you'll never equal the restaurant version and should just save that dish for when you eat out and know that the chef will nail it.

All that said, you know I'm still going to watch all of them. Idiot.

Dolan's Cadillac

2 comments:

  1. "I'd got him looking all harried, sweaty and balding" Oooer! I'll bet you did! Mwahaha.

    But yeah, I've kind of given up on SK adaptations. I didn't even like Misery much, and that's clearly one of the better ones. It's just The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me from here on out for me!

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  2. Haha. Given my Slater man-crush, I see your point ;)

    It's like scab I can't help picking. No matter how terrible I know they'll be. You're right about those three, they are the cream of the crop. I might actually put Stand By Me at the top, based on my most recent read/watch. I've a lot of love for The Shining though and loved Misery.
    And yet, I'm patiently waiting for lovefilm to send The Mangler, Desperation and all manner of other TV adaptations so I can write identical moaning blogs. I suck.

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