The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

Wow. What a terrible adaptation of a beautiful novel. Here are just a few gripes. - The screenwriter eliminated two major characters from the book. - Plot has been grotesquely altered. - Voiceovers sound as if they were directly lifted from written passages (which may read well but are not the same when spoken, especially with Chabon's writing style). - The acting is more wooden than a log cabin. (Esp. Bechstein) - This is supposed to be set in 1983??? Feels more like 2003...

To be fair I couldn't bring myself to finish watching this movie, so it's possible that it redeemed itself... (sarcasm). I truly hope that no one paid to see this, or at least anyone who read the book hoping for something decent (a la Wonder Boys). I like Chabon as a writer but he should be ASHAMED of this adaptation.

No stars.

(2008) The Mysteries of Pittsburgh DRAMA

Co-written with the author Michael Chabon, and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber with Art Bechstein (Jon Foster) somewhat narrating his life beginning with having dinner with his gangster father, (Nick Nolte). Attempting to impress his father by getting through his studies, his personal life actually begins as soon as he is invited to a party and he becomes drawn to an inspired violinist, named Jane (Sienna Miller). Who she then draws Art into her personal life when she introduces him to her boyfriend, Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard). It is during then Art experiences life and relationships. I did not think it was much of a movie.

This film pretty much mirrors my own experiences in Pittsburgh prior to leaving and only returning years later to bury mom. At a party, Art meets the attractive Jane, whose boyfriend, Cleveland, is both friendly and strange. These two mess with Art's mental state. Although Jane doesn't mean to, but Cleveland is a twisted manipulator. The first little "joke" Cleveland plays on Art should have sent Art running as far from Cleveland as he could get. But Art is pathological pushover.

As with my own complications, the fractured relationship with the gangster father. Art's possessive girlfriend. Jane's ambivalence. Cleveland's weird manipulation and emotional, if not attempting a sexual menage a trois. Art, as I did, cannot see how Cleveland is using him to get out of a bad criminal situation - then the climactic ending arriving out of thin air involving Art as the summer ends as mine did on a very small world.

This was a beautiful but ultimately confusing film.

There is an impressive cast of photogenic and talented actors, but the editing seems to have left parts of the story, which would explain its progression, out.

As a result, the story of the 'last' summer for the character played by Foster, it is only partly believable, and the poignancy that one can sense was aimed at, is missed.

There is good acting by the main actors, but the lines provided and the editing leave a lot to be desired.

It is worth seeing, but ultimately leads to a mix of emotions at the end, and not ones intended by the director.

Based on the novel by Michael Chabon, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is about the young son of a notorious gangster who spends his last teenage summer roaming around with two friends. The year is 1983, and young Art Bechstein (Jon Foster) is at a crossroads. Completely opposed to his father's lifestyle, Art plans to become a stockbroker. Visually contrived with painful attempts to create beautiful hip indie cinematography, the whole film feels like the director - whose previous effort Dodgeball was funny if outright commercial - is desperately seeking indie credibility by cobbling together aspects of other indie films but sprinkling it with stars like Mena Suvari, Sienna Miller and Nick Nolte. Like so many of the star-laden premieres at Sundance this year it felt like this was a secrety studio-sponsored vanity project to help the director earn some indie credibility points - it failed in that respect and as a film in its own right.