Genius (2016)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Am I Missing Something?

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

When I was in Asheville, North Carolina two years ago in August of 2016 to visit Thomas Wolfe's home, the movie "Genius" had just come out in June and I had planned to see it. Like many, I'm a huge Thomas Wolfe fan. The movie was already out of theaters when I returned home. I didn't know the film was based on A. Scott Berg's book, "Max Perkins" when I happened onto this great biography this April at the University of Chicago's bookstore. So when I rented "Genius" on Saturday and watched it, seeing that it was based on Berg's work, I knew everything had been lined up for me to see it in this manner. Despite what a few of the obnoxious critics wrote, most of whom I'm certain didn't read Berg's book, this movie does provide a fairly accurate presentation of Thomas Wolfe and Maxwell Perkins, based on Berg's book. It's not exact, which is what the critics have jumped on because at the beginning of the movie, it states, "A True Story," not "Based on a True Story," but it most certainly provides a glimpse of who these men were, their relationship, their work together, their personal struggles, etc. All of the scenes in the movie, with the exception of the jazz club, were in the book, just as presented. I would encourage anyone interested in great American literature to see "Genius." Thomas Wolfe could have been somewhat manic, as depicted in the movie - although the extreme level of wildness depicted by Jude Law is one point in the movie that I struggled with throughout the film. When you read his books, that's not the Thomas Wolfe you see in your mind's-eye. He's much more cerebral, contained, but certainly passionate about his work. However, they probably felt they needed the character to have that level of energy to keep the audience's interest. Many thanks to Desert Wolf Productions' John Logan (screenwriter/producer) and James Bagley (producer) for bringing this story to the screen. From my perspective, it's impossible not to be blown away at Thomas Wolfe's incredible talent as a "poet novelist." I hope some of you will read "Look Homeward Angel," "Of Time and the River," and "You Can't Go Home Again." They are pure genius!

Tells the tale of Max Perkins, Scribner editor extraordinaire who discovered and helped craft the books of Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald et al. An interesting look at how long it takes to publish a book and the relationships that enfold, swell and sometimes break. This movie appealed to me due to the cast of actors. They did a great job with what could have otherwise been dull subject matter.

A chronicle of Max Perkins's time as the book editor at Scribner, where he oversaw works by Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others. Although Genius has some pretty great performances by an all star cast it suffers from a very thin script i found myself bored most of the time and even when tragic things happened i really did not feel any kind of connection with any of the characters but for people who like this kind of movies i think that they won't be disappointed but for the rest of the worldwide audience this will be a beautiful looking movie with good performances that simply doesn't do much or say much and i'm gonna give it an 5.5/10

Having recently seen and reviewed, "The man who saw infinity", I didn't expect to see another drama biopic so soon, that could come close to equaling it. This one does come close, but doesn't quite swing it. Jude Law is acceptable, but he struggles here in the role of Thomas Wolfe. You get the impression of a vapid man, who could not be close to someone who could have written Wolfe's novels. It gave the impression of an inadequate portrayal. The accent might have been giving him trouble. Wolfe was one of that great generation of American writers, that produced works the like of which will never be seen again. Firth did a great job in the role of Perkins. So much so, that you weren't listening for the British accent. Kidman was good, but her Australian accent was a little too evident, for a realistic portrayal of a Jewish New York woman. This film, along with the infinity movie, gives me hope that we will see more of these drama biopics, in the times to come. If Law's performance had been better, or Kidman's more realistic, I would have rated it higher than an 8 of 10.