It feels like "our" movie because a couple of bits were shot in our house, from Elinor's window into the living room across the street, which they rented furniture for. I had a gut feeling that it was going to flop, mostly because the book of that clumsy title, by Jonathan Safran Foer, was so inferior to his previous book<movie that most people couldn't even get into it. I told them they should at least change the title to "Bomb Staten Island," or something catchy, but who listens to me.
In the nick of time, director Stephen Daldry pulled it from its production schedule and redid the ending, even though it meant postponing its release from September--for the 10th anniversary of 9/11--and opening it on Christmas, oops. Not a fortuitous time for a film about a boy with Asperger's syndrome whose father (Tom Hanks in this) was killed in the World Trade Center attack. That integrity and loyalty to the film may cost them a couple of Academy Award nods, but it was a brave choice.
Good for Stephen, I say. We piled into the megaplex this afternoon, sugared up on soda and popcorn, and had a great time pointing out each shot that seemed to be our house or our block. The night they rolled their tractor-cameras into E's room there were film trucks up our block and up Riverside Drive.
This movie is so much better than I'd guessed that I'll actually recommend it to people, and may go see it again. (I'm putting that in bold face.) The UWS, where it was made, was the ideal audience, like "Hannah and Her Sisters." They captured the city's lively tempo and special addictive beauty.
There was a Q&A with Stephen afterward, and I gave him the photo from when he came into E's room for a shot check and she woke up and said, "Take my picture with you," and his entourage clicked their cameras and we had it.
He asked if she were better now, and I had to say she'd died, and of course he was shocked and very tender, and then I saw that Cindy had slipped him a copy of "Shadow Princess," her book that had just come out. I guess I'm a stage mom.
But how great that I'd made the wrong prediction about the movie. A rare instance when I'm glad to be wrong.