First at all, I have to say that I've never read the book. I'd love to do it, but I can't find it in my country. Even so, I read complaints similar to yours as regard to the physical appearance of the actors of the cast.
In fact, another user had said that Ivo was a black man in the book (and I guess Isabel, as his sister, must be a black woman too). I don't know if it's true, you can confirm that.
Personally, I think the most of films based in novels don't follow the book properly (just to mention a few cases: "The name of the rose"; some versions of "Anna Karenina"; and even "Troy" which has nothing to do with the original epic poem and so on).
In my opinion, the most important things are: the screenplay (it should respect the storyline more than other details) and the acting skills of the cast. In this particular movie, I think that both actors (Marc Warren and Lee Williams) were fantastic in their roles. Even if they don't match the physical features defined in the book, I think the main goal is keeping the psychological characteristics of the characters (and you can confirm if they succeeded in that or not).
I don't think they've chosen an "unattractive cast", as you said before. Warren and Williams looks totally handsome to me. As beauty is a matter of taste, I can understand that maybe they don't satisfy your "beauty standars", so to speak. I remember when Tim defined "his type" (in the movie), he didn't mentioned any physical feature. He said something like "his type" was "introvert" (I don't remember the exact word he used).
As regard to Mikela Mikael, I have to agree with you. She's not exactly a beautiful woman. In fact, she looks quite masculine, as you said before. But maybe she was chosen due to this lack of femininity.
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backofthevan
12 years ago
Ivo and Isabel are definitely not black in the book, who knows where someone got that idea! Tim is stunned by Ivo's appearance first time he sees him, and says something like "I didn't know I had a type, but that's it" and describes Ivo's narrow face, dark hair tumbling across it, slim build and I forget what else. The point of this instant attraction is made very clear in the novel.
And about Tim, throughout the book he's very self-centred and it's mentioned more than once in one way or the other that his gorgeous blonde Redford-like looks have gotten him through life. Isabel says at one point: "He never speaks a sentence that doesn't start with 'I'."
Yes, you are right, standards of beauty are subjective. I don't find Marc Warren the least bit attractive, he's goofy looking to me. Certainly completely wrong for the part of Ivo. I know some think he's good looking as I've seen him in other roles that call for a really good-looking man, and I wonder why on earth they chose him.
Isabel is certainly not unfeminine, and Tim falls in love with her at first sight pretty much the way he did with Ivo. Just absolutely smitten with the person's appearance. Isabel needs to be a gorgeous, black-haired woman (she's described as having long black hair) the way Ivo needs to be a gorgeous black-haired man.
I didn't read the novel, I listened to an unabridged audiobook read by Alex Jennings. It was excellent, even though the three main characters are so deeply flawed (selfish, immoral, cruel, disloyal and on and on) they are all thoroughly unlikable.
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