Re: RARA-AVIS:  Michael Connelly

From: BaxDeal@aol.com
Date: 20 Mar 2008


In a message dated 3/20/08 12:46:49 AM, johnwilliams@ntlworld.com writes:
>
> For his latest novel, _The Poet_, however, Connelly has decided to take
> a break from Bosch, and has instead written an unusually thoughtful and
> unsettling serial killer novel. One that  focusses firmly on the role of
> the hunters: "I tried to make the hunt more interesting than the actual
> killer," confirms Connelly, "I didn't want to spend a whole lot of time
> with the killer".
>

this is part of what makes this book so compelling. by withholding the killer, tracking him down by his extraordinary feats makes him riveting

later, in The Narrows, the same killer takes on more human proportions simply because we're spending time with him

there's something to be said about fear of the unknown. with rare exceptions I've found this to be true. the only one that immediately springs to mind was in Michael Mann's adaptation of Thomas Harris' Red Dragon, the brilliant thriller MANHUNTER. the killer's deeds are creepy, yes. but when we actually meet the gigantic, hairlipped, stocking masked Francis Dollarhyde thru the eyes of his terrified captive Freddie Lounds, it's freak out time. and then Mann actually makes the guy sympathetic

and Bryan Cox's detached portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in the same film is nightmare inducing

John Lau

************** Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home.
      
( http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15?ncid=aolhom00030000000001)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 20 Mar 2008 EDT