This movie was okay. Spader was not given much screen time, but it was a treat to see him. Sadly, there could've been more Spader. He was good as DeForest, but you wish there was more Spader, there wasn't really enough time for his character to develop much.
shareNo I disagree, James Spader was rubbish in the film; admittedly he was underused but he just looked listless and apathetic. I feel that even though his character didn't have that much to actually do, he still gave a very poor performance. The only scene where he was any good at all was where he beckoned to Dexter Fletcher, though this was the only scene that really evokes the spirit of the book.
It really irks me the way that everyone says of this film "it was okay/poor but not that good because there wasn't enough of James Spader" - he knew from the outset that he was playing a minority role and DeForest was a minority character in the book, and Spader's DeForest and *book* DeForest were totally different anyway and Spader totally botched his job of bringing DeForest from the book onto the screen (as did many of the other other cast members in their roles - no wonder Martin Amis hated the film!)
The only cast members who gave good accounts of themselves in this film were Jonathan Pryce and Jared Harris - if you're going to enjoy the film then the best idea is to ignore Spader, Fletcher, Ione Skye etc., and just focus on those two.
Better still - READ THE BOOK INSTEAD! It is way better than the film!
The book is good but pales in comparison to this amazing film. The fact that Martin Amis disliked the film just suggests to me that Martin Amis doesn't know anything about cinema.
Speaking as an acting instructor, James Spader gives a powerful performance in this movie. His best scene is when he walks in on Ione Skye and Dexter Fletcher. He doesn't even have to say a word to convey a powerful emotion. What a tremendous movie. A true classic.
You must be kidding me! The book was terrific. All the film did was water down the story within the book - the ending especially. If the film had stuck to the book to the letter it would have been better. Charles, Rachel and DeForest's characters were largely unfaithful, the only characters in the film who were at all loyal to the book characters were Norman and Geoff. Jonathan Pryce and Jared Harris were way better than James Spader in the film.
As for the point re: Martin Amis knowing nothing about cinema, he invented the characters, he wrote the story, so the fact that the film was unfaithful to both would be good reason why he would dislike the film!