Educational Media Reviews Online

This film dramatizes one of Raymond Carver’s most anthologized and studied stories. The production is extremely faithful to the story, taking its dialog almost verbatim from the text and using voice-overs to bring in more of Carver’s prose. The voice-overs are both a successful and unsuccessful technique. While they bring Carver’s language and his main character’s thoughts to the film, they also serve as a distraction. Rather than giving the voice-overs a clichéd fuzzy quality, the filmmakers opt to make them louder than the dialog between characters. This distracts from the dialog and seems to take the burden of showing emotion away from the actors. Flashbacks are also employed with mixed results. They give the viewers needed background information, but they don’t fit seamlessly into the action of the story. Between the voice-overs and flashbacks, it is difficult to settle into this film the way one settles into the written story. Still, the acting and set are well-done, creating an ambiance reminiscent of the story. The film is followed by an interview with Carver’s widow, Tess Gallagher, who provides insights into the story and Carver himself. While not a necessary purchase in most settings, the production as a whole could help students of Carver’s work find nuances they may have missed, and it would also provide a basis for classroom discussion for students of literature and film. Recommended.