I. Since a screenplay serves as a blueprint, the finished film must be artistically successful. After all, if a house falls over and the builders adhered strictly to the plan, how worthwhile was that plan? Last year I reviewed John Grisham’s CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS, a faithful translation that shared the book’s loathsome qualities. If the film fails in the same manner as the book or creates new problems of its own, it violates our first criteria.

II. The script must respect the spirit of the source material. The Academy only judges a script by the finished film (our first criteria). Here we go one step further. Notice I said “spirit” of the source material and not “plot”. Scripts are allowed to take dramatic license. In fact, they must since it is virtually impossible to adapt every event, character and backstory of printed material into a screenplay unless audiences want to spend 3 days in a movie theater. However, the essence, main characters and events should be slavishly preserved. THE GODFATHER I & II are excellent examples of such devotion, relaying—some might say, improving—the spirit of Puzo’s epic while condensing events and characters.

With these two criteria in mind and without further ado, Movie Poop Shoot is proud to present…

2004’s BEST PRINTS TO SCREEN

#10: THE BOURNE SUPREMACY – Tony Gilroy from the Robert Ludlum novel.
This is the most frustrating film of the year. I believe that Gilroy’s work is award-worthy, which is why it is included here, and I suspect that he built a crackerjack action-adventure tale befitting Matt Damon’s stern turn. Unfortunately, the movie is directed by Paul “Shaky-Cam” Greengrass in what is hands down the most nauseating case of ADD-addled film composition of 2004, just edging out Tony Scott’s MAN ON FIRE. Greengrass shows no restraint whatsoever and his lack of faith in the audience’s brainpower to absorb a quality story turns a solidly scripted thriller into a vomitorium.

#9: THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES – Jose Rivera adapting from the novels Notas de viaje by Che Guevera and Con el Che por America Latina by Alberto Granada.
A languid read about Latin American self-discovery becomes a languid feast for the eyes under the direction of Walter Salles. Winning performances all around, particularly from Gael Garcia Bernal and Rodrigo de la Serna. Unfortunately, the movie lacks the necessary urgency to serve the import of Guevera’s transformation from gilded youth to political visionary. Nevertheless, the script remains true to its source and Salles exhibits a level of restraint and confidence in viewers’ mental capacity missing from most movies (see THE BOURNE SUPREMACY).

#8: HARRY POTTER & THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN – Steven Kloves adapting the J.K. Rowling novel.
Well, they finally got one of these right. Far from perfect, this is the best Potter to date thanks to the mediating eye of Alfonso Cuaron and Kloves’ intelligent script. The film is still too long and eager to cram in every detail of the novel but Kloves and Cuaron at least establish the grim atmosphere and cutting wit of Rowling’s style, making room for the characters to breath, conflict and grow rather than just shoving them onto the next roller coaster ride. Kloves has been a noble shepherd on these films but in Cuaron he finally finds a like-minded visionary.

#7: HELLBOY – Guillermo del Toro and Peter Briggs adapting the graphic novels by Mike Mignola.
While a good but not great picture, HELLBOY’s script must nevertheless be celebrated for its interpretive dexterity. Del Toro and Briggs briefly but effectively introduce our hero without losing the focus on the unique and macabre world around him. The cast is note perfect, especially newcomer Rupert Evans playing sounding board to Ron Perlman’s gruff virtuosity. Like most comic films, the establishment of the character, day-to-day routines and presentation of inimitable peers is much more interesting than the main plot and we can only hope this franchise endures, allowing del Toro to further explore Mignola’s fascinating world.

#6: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS – David Aaron Cohen and Peter Berg adapting from the Buzz Bissinger novel.
The biggest surprise of the year. I had little hope for the film, which seemed to be a watered-down PG13 rah-rah VARSITY BLUES version of a penetrating novel that deserved so much more. Boy, was I wrong. The ensemble performance is staggeringly good, from Billy Bob to Lucas Black to Derek Luke on down through the lesser-known performers who, while photogenic, seem more like real high-school kids putting everything on the line for a collective dream. Cohen and Berg cull small town fervor with artistic precision, enjoining the subtext of Bissinger’s desperation to the visceral thrills of gridiron success, somehow, incredibly, making it all seem fresh and engaging.

#5: CLOSER – Patrick Marber adapting his play.
Sometimes, an author is not the best choice to adapt his own work. He or she is too endeared to the material and what works on the page – or on stage – rarely translates directly to the big screen. Marber, however, makes the necessary changes – one quite significant – in transmitting this stinging, ringing assault on contemporary sexuality. With Mike Nichols in charge and all-star cast assembled, Marber was the only wild card and he comes through in a big way, reinventing his award-winning play into what should be award-winning cinema.

#4: I’M NOT SCARED – Niccolò Ammaniti and Francesca Marciano from Ammaniti’s novel.
The most grossly overlooked and neglected film of 2004, I’M NOT SCARED is a magnum opus of suspense and coming-of-age genres skillfully tied together. I actually saw the film before reading the book and I assure you, both are worthy of your attention. Director Gabriele Salvatores evokes a bleak motif chillingly similar to the events depicted in Ammaniti’s book and Giuseppe Cristiano’s turn as Michele ranks up there with Christian Bale’s in EMPIRE OF THE SUN as one of the best performances by a child actor in the history of cinema. A visceral and dramatic rocket ship that hits the ground running and never lets up until its devastating and uncompromising climax.

#3: A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT – Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant adapting from the Sébastien Japrisot novel.
Jeunet has quickly become one of my favorite filmmakers and Audrey Tautou is such a heartbreaking performer, she anchors this sweeping, three-hankie blockbuster into a touching and intensely personal journey. I was not much of a fan of the book, which was rambling and unfocused. This is perhaps one of the few examples where a movie actually improves, at least in concentration and emotion, the source material. Lush, weighty and still remarkably restrained for most of the trip, Jeunet and Laurant build the framework for a perfect film opera, something not seen since Coppola’s heyday.

#2: SIDEWAYS – Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor from the Rex Pickett novel.
Another film I saw before reading the book. Pickett’s novel is exemplary; perhaps a bit too in love with its own intelligent prose, but prosaic and hilarious in good measure. Payne and Taylor return from the letdown in ABOUT SCHMIDT with a straight-ahead comedy drama that has become their signature. Giamatti continues to be one of the most reliable character actors in the biz and Haden Church earns attention in a best supporting role but the revelation is Virginia Madsen, giving the performance of a lifetime: earthy, sexy, wise and moving. If she doesn’t win Best Supporting Actress, there is no justice. Payne and Taylor pay homage to Pickett’s talent by honoring and highlighting the idiosyncratic quirks, sins and virtues of his creations without apology. Definitely a trip serious film fans will take again and again.

#1: MILLION DOLLAR BABY – Paul Haggis adapting the stories of F.X. Toole.
Once again, the Best Adapted Screenplay becomes the Best Movie of the year. And just like last year, it comes from Clint Eastwood, an artiste somehow reborn in his 70’s as a Truffaut, Altman and Allen for the modern era. Producing, directing, scoring and giving the best performance of his iconic career, Eastwood ushers in a tour de force of honest emotion and theatrical pathos. Hilary Swank delivers far and away the best role of the year and Morgan Freeman provides realistic reminders of the story’s consequences in his notable manner. But the roots of this staggering masterpiece stem from Paul Haggis’ vivid transformation of F.X. Toole’s intense boxing anecdotes. As wonderful as Toole’s recounts are, Haggis manifests them into a cohesive whole that only an inspired and well-tooled writer can summon. MILLION DOLLAR BABY is perhaps most remarkable for its restraint. It skirts the edge of melodrama but Haggis’ script resists the easy shortcuts and crafts a walloping but inevitable tragedy of pure cinematic majesty.

Anyway, that’s how I see it. In many ways, 2004 was a strange movie-going year. Most of the better films, with the exception of ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND and COLLATERAL were derived from literary sources and yet it wasn’t an overwhelming year except for THE INCREDIBLES, SIDEWAYS and MILLION DOLLAR BABY. History I think will bear out that 2004 enjoyed these three great films and some good ones (KINSEY, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, HOTEL RWANDA, RAY, THE AVIATOR and SPIDER-MAN 2) but was mostly overwhelmed by highly-anticipated disappointments and outright disasters: I HEART HUCKABEES, THE LIFE AQUATIC, HERO, POLAR EXPRESS, SHREK 2, KILL BILL 2, FAHRENHEIT 9/11, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, BEYOND THE SEA, FINDING NEVERLAND, THE WOODSMAN, TROY, ALEXANDER, VAN HELSING, I, ROBOT, THE TERMINAL and ANCHORMAN. However, this list and other critical year-enders like it, show that the scales remain tipped in favor of quality adaptations, proving once again that the best movies are already out there in bookstores across the globe, just waiting for their close up.

Thank you all for reading. I’m looking forward to a brand new year with the Poop!

“Excessive literary production is a social offense.” – George Eliot

E-MAIL THE AUTHOR | ARCHIVES