Directed by: Rawson Michael Thurber
Written by: Rawson Michael Thurber
Based on the novel by: Michael Chabon
Starring: Jon Foster, Sienna Miller, Peter Sarsgaard, Mena Suvari, Nick Nolte
The beauty of Michael Chabon’s writing is the slow build. The stories are always inventive but deceptively feel normal. Chabon makes the everyday fantastic and the fantastic seem like every day. For the most part, the film “Mysteries of Pittsburgh” follows the lead of Chabon. The pacing is slow and careful, but every portion feels vital to the story.
“Mysteries of Pittsburgh” is the coming of age tale of Art Bechstein (Jon Foster). Art is a recent college graduate and the son of a local gangster (Nick Nolte). Since graduating, Art is spinning his wheels the summer before he embarks on the next step in his life. Art’s father has lined up a job in the financial industry with a relative, and in preparation of his job in the fall, Art is studying to take his section 7 exam to become a trader. In need of money and not particularly pleased about expending any energy to earn it, Art takes a job at the local discount bookstore. Soon Art meets a mysterious woman and her boyfriend and the three become inseparable. The line between friendship and romantic love are soon crossed, as any “last hurrah” summer epic calls for.
This movie is a very slow build, but packs a powerful punch. One would not necessarily expect such a mature and passionate story from the same writer/director who brought you “Dodgeball.” Unless I missed the more dramatic undertones to that comedy (possibly while choking on my popcorn from laughing so hard). We were lucky enough to go to a screen with a Q & A afterwards, and writer/director Rawson Michael Thurber himself joked about the differences between “Mysteries” and “Dodgeball.”
It was when Thurber talked about the book that things came in to focus. While attending film school back in 1997, Thurber met producer Jason Mercer and told him that he wanted to make the novel in to a film one day. Thurber talked a bit about the adaptation process and the difficulty in adapting a first person novel that was “more perception, observation, and description.” Anyone who has tried to adapt a book can give you a long, rambling speech about straddling the line between being faithful to the novel and making a good script. Thurber’s explanation was a bit more succinct, but you could tell he had affection for the novel.
That affection was fairly evident on screen, if a little too thick at times. Though the pacing is true to Chabon’s writing, it still could have been sped up a bit. The writing and adaptation were well done, but I think if the film had been tightened a bit in the direction and editing, the film could have worked better. The cast was remarkable, and even Sienna Miller’s southern accent did not seem to slip in and out all that much. Though I can buy Art’s deep emotional connection and attraction to the couple, I do not think the relationships came across quite as meaningful and believable as they would on the written page. The fault for that only lies partially with Thurber. The rest of the fault lies in the disconnect between a thoughtfully written character study and 90 minute movie that only has dialogue and facial gestures to communicate the same ideas.
Overall the movie is worth seeing, but it takes a bit of patience. For those that appreciate Chabon’s work, this is a nice bit of adaptation. For those unfamiliar with his work, the story might be a bit like a fog; you don’t know where you are or what is going on, but the feel of it is lovely and cool.
This is a really good book.
So I am looking forward to the film a lot. Great review.