Its kinda strange how little of this is actually about immortality. To be fair, the book is really more about them talking about being immortal then doing anything with the concept, so its a pretty bare-bones story to adapt for a film.
As such, there’s a decent amount of padding here. They keep cutting back to the search party horses without developing anything and a bulk of the runtime is kinda just Winnie and Jesse having cute couple moments in the woods. As such, it turns into something of a hangout movie, and considering the warm cinematography and cozy period setting, it does a good job at that. Also, when the immortality aspect does come into play, its a pretty effective scene. I like how they do the flashbacks!
Character wise, the parents kinda get the short end of the stick. Sissy Spacek and William Hurt are both very warm and compassionate but the movie decides to focus more on the “romance” then the family. Miles gets some decent characterization and I like some of the changes they make with him. And Ben Kinglsey is delightful as the villian. A good deal of the runtime is the romantic outings shared by Jesse and Winnie, and again, its aesthetically pleasing and theres some cute sequences but it never really feels like there’s too much weight behind it.
The ending feels weirdly rushed because as I previously stated, the immortality only comes into play more than halfway through the movie. By the time the whole “should you live forever?” question comes into play, theres not really enough time to develop it in a satisfying way.
Its kinda strange how little of this is actually about immortality. To be fair, the book is really more about them talking about being immortal then doing anything with the concept, so its a pretty bare-bones story to adapt for a film.
As such, there’s a decent amount of padding here. They keep cutting back to the search party horses without developing anything and a bulk of the runtime is kinda just Winnie and Jesse having cute couple moments in the woods. As such, it turns into something of a hangout movie, and considering the warm cinematography and cozy period setting, it does a good job at that. Also, when the immortality aspect does come into play, its a pretty effective scene. I like how they do the flashbacks!
Character wise, the parents kinda get the short end of the stick. Sissy Spacek and William Hurt are both very warm and compassionate but the movie decides to focus more on the “romance” then the family. Miles gets some decent characterization and I like some of the changes they make with him. And Ben Kinglsey is delightful as the villian. A good deal of the runtime is the romantic outings shared by Jesse and Winnie, and again, its aesthetically pleasing and theres some cute sequences but it never really feels like there’s too much weight behind it.
The ending feels weirdly rushed because as I previously stated, the immortality only comes into play more than halfway through the movie. By the time the whole “should you live forever?” question comes into play, theres not really enough time to develop it in a satisfying way.
