Kesey's novel is dense, lyrical, provocative, huge, compelling and literary. The movie is none of these things. Mostly, I blame the screenplay, which was willing to take a terrific book and turn it into The equivalent of a television movie. The casting, and the actors, are near on perfect. If you read the novel, it is hard not to think of Paul Newman as Hank Stamper or Henry Fonda as Henry Stamper. Lee Remick as Viv is fine, although she looks more Hollywood then Oregon coast. The rest of the cast, is fine. It's the material. The dialogue is rudimentary. The story itself has ironed out all the interesting knots in Kesey's novel. In only, perhaps, the most minor of Ways has this been a success or an improvement. Lee's motivations are Mostly lost. We have no insight into Viv. Henry is a bit too young and vital, Although one of the best things about the movie. And Hank probably doesn't get enough screen time. Plus, the atmosphere of the novel, the encroaching winter season with more and more rain coming on, has been Replaced by a beautiful Oregon summer. All in all, if you haven't read the novel And are looking for some relatively simplistic early 70s movie fare, at a time when movies were not very successfully learning how to compete with television. you might enjoy this. And you do get to watch Paul Newman, Henry Fonda and Lee Remick. It is really a pity that those three actors didn't have more to work with. The screenplay did not try but fail to adapt the novel. The screenplay simply did not try.
Review of Sometimes a Great Notion
