The Goldfinch

The Goldfinch

Starring Oakes Fegley, Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Jeffrey Wright

Directed by John Crowley

The Story:
Theo Decker (Oakes Fegley) and his mother attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art when it comes under terrorist attack and is bombed, resulting in Theo's mother's death.  Theo's father Larry (Luke Wilson) left years earlier, so he is taken in by wealthy socialite Samantha Barbour (Nicole Kidman) and her family.  After the bombing Theo is moving through the rubble when he finds an old man named Welty, who tells him to take the Goldfinch painting and find his partner Hobie Hobart, and Theo eventually makes his way to Hobie (Jeffrey Wright).  Theo doesn't tell Hobie he has the painting, and finds himself drawn to Welty's niece Pippa (Aimee Laurence) who was also there during the bombing, and he strikes up a friendship with both Pippa and Hobie.

Eventually Larry returns with his new girlfriend Xandra (Sarah Paulson) and takes Theo from New York City to Las Vegas, where he meets Ukrainian Boris (Finn Wolfhard), who introduces him to drugs and alcohol.  After another family tragedy, Theo decides to flee and head back to New York, where he reunites with Hobie and moves in and works for him.

The years pass and Theo (Ansel Elgort) is now an adult and partner in Hobie's antique store, all the while hiding the Goldfinch painting.  He reunites with Pippa, but finds that she's now married and living in London, and begins a relationship with Samantha Barbour's daughter who he lived with as a child.  He plans to marry her but then is confronted by a man who claims he knows Theo stole the Goldfinch painting that day, and reunites with a now-adult Boris (Aneurin Barnard) who gives him some shocking news that threatens both of their lives.

The Synopsis:
When you're thinking of what makes an excellent, award-winning, unforgettable film, a few things almost immediately spring to mind: a solid story, a veteran director at the helm, strong acting talent, a dramatic score, and beautifully shot scenes.  "The Goldfinch" - on paper at least - had all of that.  A solid story (the film is based off a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel written by Donna Tartt).  A veteran director (John Crowley, who also directed "Brooklyn" which earned three Academy Award nominations including Best Picture).  Strong acting talent (Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Paulson, Finn Wolfhard, and Luke Wilson are all household names who've proven their strong acting prowess over and over).  A dramatic score (Trevor Gureckis gives a haunting, eerie score that reverberates throughout).  Beautifully shot scenes (Roger Deakins, who just finally earned an Oscar for his cinematography in "Blade Runner 2049" shot the scenes and made the film look ethereal and haunting).  So all of these components should've provided a knockout awards-winning film, but all of that was mere window dressing as the final product was something far worse than the sum of its parts - it's bloated, long, and unfortunately boring.

The film follows the life of Theo Decker, who looses his mother in a terrorist attack and descends into a world of depression, drugs, alcohol, and co-dependency as he grows up into a depressed young man who still harbors the Goldfinch painting he was looking at when the bomb went off, keeping it as the only reminder of his mother.  He holds himself responsible for her death throughout his life, and claims that's why she never visits him in his dreams, and basically leads the worst life you can imagine.  There's not a lot of brevity here, as the entire two hour and thirty minute runtime consists of him brooding about one thing or another, and basically reacting to the people around him.

"The Goldfinch" isn't entirely bad, but the bad parts outweigh the few good moments the film delivers.  I found myself nearly nodding off several times before opening my eyes to see some interesting scenes occurring, but all of that seems to exist just to propel the story forward and doesn't make a cohesive whole.  Theo basically goes from scene to scene reacting to what's happening around him, and we don't really get a deep sense of who this man is apart from his continual grief.  The ending - which was easily the most tense - seemed shoe-horned in and ends quite abruptly, especially counting in the overly long moments that preceded it.

It's intriguing to see those around Theo's world and how they all seemingly have negative things to teach the young man.  Samantha Barbour is cold and emotionless toward her young ward and seemingly can't wait to get rid of him.  His father re-enters the picture just to get his money, and his new girlfriend holds absolutely no emotional resonance with him.  The only girl he really loves doesn't love him back - or even knows he pines for her because he never tells her - and also strays from Theo due to their shared tragic experience.  Even with his best friend Boris, Theo encounters dangerous drug and alcohol use and later discovers a shocking secret Boris has been keeping from him that threatens both of their lives.  Seemingly no one in his life is good, except for Hobie, who takes Theo in and trains him to be an excellent antique dealer and acts as the best surrogate for the young man.  We see how Theo reacts to each situation and we genuinely feel bad for the kid, which also makes the film more infuriating because it has these glimmers of hope but peters out as quickly as they come.

The acting talent is squashed when it comes to the script, as pretty much everyone gives a flatline performance except for a certain few.  Ansel Elgort has made a name for himself for basically being monotone, and here is no exception.  Nicole Kidman also remains stoic throughout and showcases absolutely no emotion whatsoever - it's like she's a robot, or merely floating through her performance.  Sarah Paulson gives the film a bit more emotion as the crazy girlfriend Xandra (with a "X," as she introduces herself), and Luke Wilson gives a very sleazy performance as Theo's money-hungry father.  Finn Wolfhard is a standout as Theo's friend Boris who also speaks with a surprisingly decent Russian accent, while his adult counterpart drops the ball a bit.

Although Elgort plays the older Theo, the film spends most of its time focused on the young Theo, played by Oakes Fegley, who does a very admirable job against heavyweights like Kidman, Paulson and Wilson.  Oakes owns Theo's world and gives a commanding performance as the young man, and we see how he struggles through his life, his memories, and the guilt that eats at him every day in a way that's emotional and memorable, and likewise Jeffrey Wright owns the film as Theo's surrogate father figure Hobie, the only truly good human in the film.

Roger Deakins showcases his immense talent in full force as each scene is beautifully shot and choreographed in a way that maintains a sense of melancholy throughout, and maybe that's why the film was lacking that emotional punch because we feel it from start to finish.  He might have done his job too well - or maybe "The Goldfinch" was a book that couldn't be made into a movie without loosing its luster and depth.  Either way, the film was a surprising disappointment and left me wondering why the transition from book to film didn't work - and I really don't have a logical answer.

The Summary:
Somehow loosing something in translation, "The Goldfinch" worked extremely well as a novel but couldn't translate to the big screen despite big-named actors both in front of and behind the camera, resulting in a mediocre film that's dull, lifeless, and way too long.

The Score: C-