Synopsis
When an uneducated man aspires to become a writer, will making
his dream come true lead to happiness?
Story
As a ruggedly handsome man, Martin Eden (Luca Marinelli) has
absolutely no problem attracting women.
But as a travelling sailor in Italy, he has trouble keeping them. So, he is forever single, never burdened with
a serious relationship. That changes one
day when his shipmate Arturo is bullied by one of the other crew members; Eden
springs into action and comes to his aid, subduing the bully and saving his
friend. Unbeknownst to Eden, this will
wind up having some long-term benefits when Arturo introduces him to his
wealthy family, who effusively thanks him for saving Arturo from a beating.
An added bonus to meeting Arturo’s family is an introduction
to his sister Elena (Jessica Cressy) – a beautiful, erudite young woman who is
instantly drawn to Eden. This turns out
to be something of a watershed moment for Eden because he’s smitten; the two begin
to spend a great deal of time together and it is not long before Eden proclaims
his love for Elena. But the class
difference proves to be too much of an obstacle to overcome; even Eden himself
admits that she is brilliant. Elena
encourages Eden to seek further education, but his rudimentary scholastic capabilities
prove to be a considerable shortcoming.
Eden confesses to Elena that he wishes to become a
writer. When he attains questionable
fame for being mistaken as a socialist, she rejects him for being shamed by her
family. Eventually, Eden gets recognized
for his writing ability and obtains celebrity by having many books published. Over time, he becomes even more entrenched
into his beliefs about how all workers are essentially enslaved by the free
market economy and his political philosophies are his greater identity than as
a writer. When Elena suddenly returns
and admits she made a mistake by shunning him, will Eden resume his relationship
with his one true love?
Review
This movie version of Jack London’s novel is utterly unfocused,
inarticulate and overwrought; as a result, it misses an opportunity to make a
significant impact on an audience. Speaking
of overwrought, the performance by Luca Marinelli as the eponymous protagonist
goes the full spectrum from nuanced to scenery-chewing so much so that it is absolutely
alarming. “Martin Eden” had a chance to
be something groundbreakingly special, but blew it so badly that it’s almost embarrassing. At least director Pietro Marcello gave us
some lovely shots of scenery (especially at the end).
At over two hours, “Martin Eden” seems to meander and might
have benefited from some “tough love” editing; as it stands, it comes across as
somewhat self-indulgent – but perhaps we can at least be thankful that it’s not
a three hour ego-fest. The point of the
movie – which may differ from that of the novel on which it is based – seems to
be that success will destroy you and that it is its own form of death (if not
corporeally, at least spiritually). However,
the fact that the character of Eden himself seems to be ambiguous about his own
political beliefs fails to make that connection.
What challenges belief is Eden’s sudden realization that Elena only now loves him for his renown as an author, despite the fact that she snubbed him when he was perceived as a socialist. The scene comes across less as a realistic revelation than as a drug-induced fever dream by Eden. His rejection of Elena is understandable but the manner in which it is done is anything but. In the hands of someone better at shaping a narrative, the film version of “Martin Eden” had the potential of something spectacular. Instead, it is nothing less than a shallow attempt at artistic relevance.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Speak Your Piece, Beeyotch!