At the end of the day, what Neville truly wants, NEEDS, is the company of another human being, and takes to irrational acts of futility like setting up mannequins and talking to them, repeatedly watching Shrek and old news casts, carrying on conversations with his faithful dog and, of course, talking to himself. But it means nothing to him, and this is depicted with bitter poignancy by the countless thousands of dollars strewn about a bank’s floor, trodden underfoot, muddy, torn, and rotting in the elements. All its wealth, power, knowledge, and history is his, and he can take anything he wants with impunity. The only thread where the movie could be superior to the book is the portrayal of Neville’s debilitating isolation. Worse than the constant fear of the creatures out there, the relentless worry of checking and re-checking his safeguards in here, the madness of frustration as he tries over and again to understand the virus, is the thought of his unimaginable loneliness-perhaps the best reason why the loss of the dog is so terrible. ![]() While it is possibly the worst moment of Neville’s dreadful story, the entire ambience of his tale is lump-in-throat. In both movie and book, the dog’s death moved me to tears. The book and the movie are alike in the heart-breaking dog character-the last of his kind, and the last of the friends of Mankind. The book is overwhelmingly sad and disturbing and presents a philosophy that is as horrible as it is truthful. The movie, which stars Will Smith in the role of Robert Neville-the last “uninfected” man on Earth-features plagued multitudes as “thinking” zombies, whereas the book defers to a new species of intelligent vampire that has morphed from the virus-infected human race. Like World War Z, the Hollywood movie version of I Am Legend is nothing like the book. ![]() I have just finished the novella I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |