WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE (Richard Linklater 2019)

[Chris Knipp]

Further comments.

On rereading the entire novel, I found it not quite as sharply satirical as I imply in my review. It's very good-natured, arguably too much so. However it is true that there are many little complaints about annoying aspects of Seattle, such as verbal habits of the locals and the omnipresence of Dale Chihuly glass works, gathered like insects overhead. A big thing is truly the spoiling of the mystery by revealing to the film audience all along where Bernadette is after she disappears, which is held in suspense till near the end of the novel and gives it a sense of suspense and relief. One of the best things in the book is the descriptions of Bernadette's adaptive and economical methods as an architect. The Twenty Mile House is only one example but the key one: in building and furnishing it she pledged to use only materials found within a twenty mile radius, not just acquired locally but found or made locally. The descriptions of working with what was available are fascinating and inspiring. This is also, by the way, a good picture of what a superstar architect can be like.

It's also true that while there are long passages from Bee's point of view - downgraded as mentioned in the movie -- there is a lot that is an inventive collection of different "found" texts that build up the narrative, creating the novel's world and its rich gallery of characters as the story unfolds. Giving this up means more of a loss than merely converting an epistolary novel (consisting only of letters from a handful of characters) into a drama.

Still want to say, though, that watching the movie was in no way a chore for me. Say Cate Blanchett's performance is "flat" or doesn't come off if you like (pretty ridiculous though: see the Trailer). It seems pretty energetic to me. Obviously some of the author's intended edge and brilliance is lost in this.

Somebody should put the in-car "Time After Time" duo singalong of Beernadette and Bee on YouTube, and then maybe in a pinch you could skip the rest. I'm still a little puzzled why the Metascore is quite so abysmal.