Odd and awkward

Fincher's film adaptation is now immortal, being adored by critics, fans, film students (which is when you know it's gone too far) and having been copied, referenced, quoted endlessly since it's release. One of the things I loved about it was how innovative it was, playing around with ideas of story and cinematic storytelling, which keeps it fresh to this day. The story's anarchic tone lends itself well to this, so when I heard BBC did a radio adaptation, i was fascinated to see what the result would be. It was finally released, and after listening, well...

I think the main issue is the runtime. Try as they might, and they did, the story doesn't work in one hour. This version is based on the novel and not the film, and while some elements of the novel are acknowledged, it feels like a poor man's audio summary of the film. A multi-part adaptation of the book would have been appropriate and very probably would have helped set it apart. As it stands, you hear a lot of the same infamous quotes, the same infamous moments, the same infamous rules, and you end up wishing you were watching the film instead.

The performances aren't bad, they work with what's available, and if the writers were simply given a one hour slot to work with, then I really sympathise. That said, not particularly worth the price of admission.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful