Re: RARA-AVIS: Jones


William G. Buck (petecastle@worldnet.att.net)
Sat, 10 Jul 1999 10:29:17 -0700


> Its unfortunate that such a lyrical and complicated creation as Robicheaux
> should have been represented on screen by a self-absorbed hambone like
> Baldwin. Worse, however, would be handing Robicheaux off to Jones, an
even
> more self-absorbed actor who is an uncured, unsalted, 100%
> straight-from-the-pig's-behind hambone. Someone with a little artistic
> integrity should play Robicheaux, if he must be played at all.

    Jones is also an unmitigated prick, if that has any bearing on it.

    However, I believe that Burke, like Dick Francis, can never be successfully transferred to the screen. The appeal is in the writing and the inner dialogue, which doesn't transfer well. It doesn't help either that when you examine Burke's stories there's no "there" there. The hardboiled shell surrounding his work holds a mushy interior.

    Lyrical and complicated, yes. Which does not quite disguise a major flaw in his work. While I think Burke is second to no one in his writing skills and elegance, his books are seriously short on story and his reliance on New Age sleight-of-hand, hallucinations, dreams, ghosts, and other claptrap to resolve his weak stories is a spoiler.

    Jerry Buck

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