Paul's Case

This was one of the worst god awful films i ever had to sit through in an english class.. it was so bad i had to wait until college to experience. We read the story, which was not any better, then watched this. Basically you have Paul, who is a misunderstood young man and whines and whines and whines, and you NEVER really care about him.. You just want him to shut up. You are supposed to feel sorry for Paul, but you can't. He's just too annoying.

This outstanding film is based of one of the finest short stories ever written. Eric Roberts is brilliant as the young man I always thought had to be the prototype for Holden Caulfield. The sensitivity & simplicity of this film is to be commended, because it never would have worked as well as it does otherwise. This movie should definitely be seen by a far wider audience.

I love the story of Paul's case, a fervent wish for beauty in a dull boring life, but I felt that Eric Roberts did not truly get a grasp on his character, so he played Paul as boring and dull as his surroundings. Even when he does get to New York, and the kind of life that he wished- if only for a short time- you see no change in his reactions to the surroundings. Costumes and settings were wonderful, supporting actors were fine. I just felt that for a character that the whole story revolves around, we should have had a little more insight into motivations- it's easier when it's read in a story. All in all, an acceptable attempt.

I showed it to my students for English class. Some students liked it a lot. Some students thought it was difficult to understand. But as for myself, I thought it was captivating and deep. I first read Paul's Case in a college English course and remember it as one of my favorite short stories. I felt rather empathetic to the character, Paul being the protagonist, the world the antagonist. I appreciated the symbol of the flowers and the color red, as a representation of his mother. In his father, I saw a man who could not identify at all with his son. Despite the fact that the story was written in 1906, it could easily take place now, 100 years later. Some of my students didn't like that it left out some parts from the story in the movie. Some didn't like that it ended abruptly. They thought it needed more detail. My other students liked that it was a psychological case. It made them think enough about life. And thinking is one of the things I like to have my students do!

I saw this over 20 years ago and it stays with me to this day. When it snows I am reminded of particular scenes in the movie, also whenever I get the chance to visit the theater or a museum. Eric Roberts embodied the young man Paul...and I see him to this day as Paul no matter what his character. He had the dark, brooding, depth of soul Willa Cather's boy had. An American classic...it speaks to the soul of everyday man as to the necessity for art to make life live-able...there is more to it than drudgery...something forgotten in modern day society...the arts give our existence color. When you don't have that...why live in a gray world? Willa Cather's story speaks to this and this version screams it. Excellent.