Reviewed by Cassam Looch
Stars Javier Bardem, Benjamin Bratt, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Unax Ugalde, Liev Schreiber,
Marcela Mar, John Leguizamo, Gina Forbes | Written by Ronald Harwood & Gabriel García Márquez
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 139 minutes | Directed by Mike Newell
Classic books do not make for classic films. And given that Love in the Time of Cholera is considered to be dense and intricate even by literary terms, what chance does the cinematic version have? Well, given an award-winning cast, a "safe-hands" director and stunning locations, the film is not a failure. It may be overlong and unintentionally comical in places, but (and prepare yourselves for this) isn’t the novel just as flawed?
Set in the culturally exciting but dangerous period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, we meet a young man (Florentino) who falls madly in love with a girl from his town. However, they are kept apart because of his low social standing and she (Fermina) eventually marries a doctor, much to the approval of her father. Florentino is heartbroken and vows to one day win her back, but bides his time embarking on numerous affairs to try and mend his broken heart. When the opportunity presents itself Florentino returns, but does Fermina still feel the same way?
I used to know someone who raved about this book. I had put it somewhere in the recesses of my mind having read it many years ago and never really connected. I decided to approach the film in purely cinematic terms, and to be fair I was not disappointed. Whereas the novel’s over-elaborate parallels between science and romanticism grated, here it is far more subtle. In fact perhaps too subtle as neither the doctor nor the lovelorn poet ever express convincing desire other than in their pursuit for Fermina. Bardem plays his version of the central character well, but is let down later on by some poor makeup effects. The teenage version of Florentino Ariza is played by young(er) actor Ugalde who does resemble Bardem, but in an unfortunately disconcerting way.
The film's flaws are those of the novel itself as previously mentioned. The monumental conquests that Florentino embarks on (even in his old age) become ridiculous — even by modern, Russell Brand standards — and so the impact of his unrequited love diminishes for the viewer long before it diminishes for the characters. But the poignant ending remains intact and that helps steer an otherwise uneven film into calmer waters.
EXTRAS *** A commentary track with director Mike Newell; a making-of featurette; deleted scenes; and the obligatory theatrical trailer. Why do they always put the trailer on the DVD, in the special features section, which you normally look at AFTER you've seen the film? Who wants to watch the trailer AFTER seeing the film?