Genius (2016 film)
| Genius | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Grandage |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | John Logan |
| Based on |
Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Adam Cork |
| Cinematography | Ben Davis |
| Edited by | Chris Dickens |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | Summit Entertainment |
Release dates |
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| Country |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $17 million[1] |
| Box office | $1.8 million[2] |
Genius is a 2016 British-American biographical drama film directed by Michael Grandage and written by John Logan, based on the 1978 National Book Award-winner Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg. The film stars Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Dominic West and Guy Pearce. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.[3]
Synopsis
The story of Genius follows the story of American Southern writer Thomas Wolfe and his connections with New Yorker Maxwell Perkins, the publisher. Perkins had already previously published works by the great American writers Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Cast
- Colin Firth as Maxwell Perkins
- Jude Law as Thomas Wolfe
- Nicole Kidman as Aline Bernstein
- Dominic West as Ernest Hemingway
- Guy Pearce as F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Laura Linney as Louise Saunders
- Vanessa Kirby as Zelda Fitzgerald
- Makenna McBrierty as Nancy Perkins
- Kumud Pant as Train Commuter
Production
Filming
Principal photography on the film began on October 19, 2014 in Manchester, and ended on December 12, 2014.[4][5][6]
Release
The film was released on June 10, 2016. The film had its premiere at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, 2016.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film currently has a rating of 49%, based on 93 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Genius seeks to honor worthy subjects, yet never gets close enough to the titular quality to make watching worth the effort".[7]
British reviews include:
- The Guardian: "Michael Grandage’s debut film, on Thomas Wolfe and his literary editor Maxwell Perkins, is hammily acted, overstylised and lacking in subtlety"[8]
- The Independent: "The acting, along with John Logan’s script, belongs to the theatre"[9]
- The Daily Telegraph: "All the blaring trumpets and martinis the director can fling us as jazzy background don’t save the film from being very unappealingly lit indeed - full of drab, grey interiors, it's halfway to monochrome. "[10]
American reviews include:
- Variety: "Though Michael Grandage's dull, dun-colored 'Genius' makes every effort to credit the editor’s role in shaping the century’s great novels, it’s nobody’s idea of interesting to watch someone wield his red pencil over the pile of pages that would become Thomas Wolfe’s 'Look Homeward, Angel,' even if the editor in question is the great Maxwell Perkins. While the talent involved should draw smarthouse crowds, the result has all the life of a flower pressed between 'Angel's' pages 87 years ago."[11]
- The Hollywood Reporter: "The insurmountable problem, however, is that the story engages only late in the game, once Tom has betrayed his father figure by revising his previous acknowledgment of the role Max played in molding his genius. But perhaps due to the anesthetizing effect of most of what's come before, the central relationship lacks spark and the pathos remains muted. Even scenes that should burst with excitement, such as Tom loosening up sober Max in a Harlem jazz club, are like CPR on a lifeless body."[12]
- The New York Times: "'Genius' is a dress-up box full of second- and thirdhand notions. Set mainly in a picturesquely brown and smoky Manhattan in the 1930s, it gives the buddy-movie treatment to that wild-man novelist Thomas Wolfe and his buttoned-up red-penciler Maxwell Perkins."[13]
- Rolling Stone: "You know the drill: Strong source material, in the form of A. Scott Berg's National Book Award–winning biography on Perkins, a top-notch screenwriter (John Logan) and a to-die-for A-list cast. Having all the right ingredients doesn't mean you can't royally screw up the recipe, however, and the missteps start coming fast and furious even before Law's manic-hillbilly act wears out its welcome."[14]
References
- ↑ "Even 'Genius' Needs an Editor: Thomas Wolfe and Max Perkins in New Film". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ↑ "Genius (2016)". The-Numbers. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ↑ "Berlinale 2016: First Films for Competition and Berlinale Special". Berlinale. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- ↑ Willacy, Josh (October 17, 2014). "Lights, Kidman, action: Colin Firth and Nicole blockbuster starts filming in Manchester". mancunianmatters.co.uk. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ↑ "On The Set, - Box Office ... Abrams Wraps The Cellar, Tom Hiddleston Finishes I Saw the Light & More". ssninsider.com. December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ↑ "Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman and Jude Law begin filming 'Genius' in Manchester, UK". onlocationvacations.com. October 27, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ↑ "Genius (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
- ↑ Barnes, Henry (16 February 2016). "Genius review – Colin Firth and Jude Law's literary bromance needs an edit". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ↑ Aftab, Kaleem (16 February 2016). "Genius, film review: Michael Grandage should have stuck to his day job". The Independent. London. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ↑ Robey, Tim (16 February 2016). "Genius review: 'a colourless chore'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ↑ Debruge, Peter (16 February 2016). "Film Review: 'Genius'". Variety. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ↑ Rooney, Tim (16 February 2016). "'Genius': Berlin Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ↑ Scott, A. O. (9 June 2016). "Review: 'Genius' Puts Max Perkins and Thomas Wolfe in a Literary Bromance'". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ↑ Fear, David (11 June 2016). "Genius". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
External links
- Genius at the Internet Movie Database
- Genius at History vs. Hollywood
- Genius at Rotten Tomatoes
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