So Cold the River

A little disappointed I'm afraid... "After watching "So Cold the river"...maybe I'm one of the few people who read the book before seeing the movie.. Acting ,filming and direction was superb but the book was barely touched upon and changed far too much.... I can see why people who didnt read the novel were confused!!!.

Loved the setting (of course because I work there and am TRULY impressed every time I see it) and it was beatifully filmed but this story should have been much more!!

Yes.. I will probably still buy it but sad it wasn't Michael Koryta's original book!!

I read the book when it first came out and really enjoyed it. As writer myself From the same neck of the woods as Koryta I'm a big fan of his atmospheric storytelling. I remember enjoying the book, great characters and engaging plot, not Koryta's best work but still enjoyable. About a year ago I was on a long road trip and decided to listen to the audio book on Audible. Much to my surprise I found myself hearing the story in a much different way than when I read it and actually enjoyed it even more.

Now the movie. I was really looking forward to the film version. I knew from the trailer that the main character Eric was changed to Erica and fellow historical investigator Kellen Cage turned into a female intern. Josiah Bradford's character was also drastically different than in the book and I'm not sure I liked the change to be honest. The movie certainly had some elements of the book, the hotel was a nice setting and the cinematography wasn't bad, the acting felt a bit phoned in. The major element missing from the movie was the sense of place the book had, the feeling of traveling back in time in Eric's (Erica's) and Josiah's mind just didn't translate well to the big screen. Unfortunately some books just don't translate well from written word to screen and unfortunately this may be one of them. It's possible if the movie was longer and more was included it could have come across better, unfortunately I think an hour and a half is just not long enough to tell a story with the amount of depth the book has.

So Cold the River perhaps is Michael Koryta's version of The Shining. While the rich and layered story of the book got some tweaks and alterations for its film adaptation, the simplified iteration sadly can't give the book real justice. It's a slow burn and talkie film that mostly resembles an episode of a mediocre late-night TV mystery show.

Its times like this I miss the message board here..

The movie has some nice scares, the acting is fine, the scenery is lovely.

I did not understand anything of it, though.

I love slow burners, and being a 54 year old grandma, I have seen some weird movies in my time. I normally understand them, and like them. This one was lost on me. I have no idea what happened in the end.

I dig open endings, but I do not dig confusing ones.

Help..?

All these new users giving 10/10 - and one review.

Work out why that is Read the other reviews for REAL opinions. It's clear that the new users giving full marks have a stake in this film Shameful.