I recall reading John Irving's novel, probably about the time it came out in 1978. I was still kind of naïve in the ways of the world, so when I came across THAT scene in the book, I thought it was just the most outrageous thing for some author to be writing about. It was merely an exclamation point on all the other twisted imagery the story dealt with, not the least of which was the way Jenny Fields (Glenn Close) became pregnant, the blind side tackle Roberta Muldoon (John Lithgow) put on the unsuspecting intruder at her boarding house, and the self mutilating members of the Ellen James Society. That last one almost sounded like it could have been real, but it was all an element of Irving's fertile imagination.
So I had to wonder how the film would approach THAT scene, and I do have to say, it was done with fairly admirable restraint, even if the discussion about it afterwards left nothing to the imagination. See, now I'll have to put up with that mental image for a couple of days before it slowly drifts off into the ether.
There are probably passages in the novel that fill in some of the gaps left by the movie which I can't remember now. For example, the death of young son Walter seemed like no big deal after the fact, whereas a trauma like that would cast a shadow over any married couple forever. There was also the character of Pooh (Brenda Currin), who's rage at seeing Garp (Robin Williams) at his mother's memorial service is left unexplained, not to mention her even more violent response to close out the story. In most other respects, the film brought back a lot of what I remembered about the Irving novel, with a talented cast and well paced screenplay. Not an easy task for such a lengthy piece, but in this case, the result hit close to the mark.
So I had to wonder how the film would approach THAT scene, and I do have to say, it was done with fairly admirable restraint, even if the discussion about it afterwards left nothing to the imagination. See, now I'll have to put up with that mental image for a couple of days before it slowly drifts off into the ether.
There are probably passages in the novel that fill in some of the gaps left by the movie which I can't remember now. For example, the death of young son Walter seemed like no big deal after the fact, whereas a trauma like that would cast a shadow over any married couple forever. There was also the character of Pooh (Brenda Currin), who's rage at seeing Garp (Robin Williams) at his mother's memorial service is left unexplained, not to mention her even more violent response to close out the story. In most other respects, the film brought back a lot of what I remembered about the Irving novel, with a talented cast and well paced screenplay. Not an easy task for such a lengthy piece, but in this case, the result hit close to the mark.