However, this is not the story of the DaVinci code.
[ Warning Moviegoers: My Post May Contain Spoilers ]
So much is left out... far too much when telling such a tale as this. The story has gone from being so fluid as to rival that of the Harry Potter series to being as torn and choppy as a Terantino film. The characters are far too black and white. My two favorite characters in the story, Silas and Teabing, were portrayed as crazed lunatics with no apparent sense of remorse (or, at least a plausible one, anyway).
Sure, observing Silas' self-flagellation may seem odd... but in the novel, I felt pity for this character. I longed to see his tears after the flogging, because in the story I felt that I could relate to those tears having shed so many of my own in different yet similar circumstances. We all do things that harm ourselves in the moment so that we may thrive in the future. In fact, our culture praises such acts. Putting away money for investments, eating healthy foods now to be in better health later, the act of fasting... Hell, even the thought of Lent itself should seem so peculiar. I felt so close to Silas in the book. His depiction in the film, however, was so less desirable. The camera left him shortly after he reapplied his cilice to the opposite thigh and began his self-flagellation. I however, stuck in the room with him. Even when the story flashed back to his youth, it was simply of him murdering his abusive father and being put in prison, only to be rescued by Father Aringosa. The one redeeming scene for Silas was when Silas rescued Aringosa and was called an angel. However, the conflict within Silas of being either a "ghost" or an "angel" was hardly touched on and his eventual death was so sudden and anticlimactic that I had seriously thought it had not occurred at all. When Fache reported to Aringosa that his servant had indeed died, I was floored that Howard would dispose of such a character in such a way.
This was perhaps the worst travesty of all. Teabing's character was distorted SO badly throughout the story that he was unrecognizable by the end as the Teabing from the novel. The film's version of Teabing is no longer the lively, quirky, portly old man in search of the truth. No, the film decided to instead turn Teabing into a man looking to destroy the church. And, thus, Langdon's character has turned into the spokesman for Christian faith. While I applaud an open dialogue between the two apparent "chasms" of thought - science and religion - I cannot help but question why they must be made separate. Even in the film, Langdon suggests that Jesus could still be the savior of mankind while the father of a girl named Sarah who's bloodline continues from that of the Merovingians. Why, then, must the filmmakers fail to do justice to that very line from the story and make such divisive characters as Langdon and Teabing?
Read the novel. It is cheaper than most movie tickets, the story is much more fluid and complete, and the characters are much more rich and lively. If you do decide to see a film this year, might I suggest instead spending your money on the brilliant heartwarming tale of love, courage, and the strength of family found in the quirky tale "Over the Hedge."
That's all for tonight.
Wait. No, that's not all for tonight.
Liz, this is for you...
Steal my heart and hold my tongue.
I feel my time, my time has come.
Let me in, unlock the door.
I've never felt this way before.
The wheels just keep on turning,
The drummer begins to drum,
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know which way I've come.
Hold my hand inside your hands,
I need someone who understands.
I need someone, someone who hears,
For you, I've waited all these years.
For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come.
Until my day, my day is done.
And say you'll come, and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
In your tears and in your blood,
In your fire and in your flood,
I hear you laugh, I heard you sing,
"I wouldn't change a single thing."
The wheels just keep on turning,
The drummers begin to drum,
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know what I've become.
For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come,
Until my days, my days are done.
Say you'll come and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
I love you, Liz.
I'll be coming to get you shortly...
Love,
David
P.S. Are the Universalists the only ones who really understand what Dan Brown is trying to do here? It sure seems that way. See this sermon for an interesting Christian take on the Da Vinci code.
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