Uncovered - Jim McBride

Where to start. Uncovered, directed by Jim McBride, is a literary adaptation. As we all know, there are some adaptations that stick religiously to the text, and others that use the text as a jumping-off point. The adaptation could be good or bad, regardless of the type. So there are some adaptations that stick to the text, and they are not good films....and then there are those which are amazing. Same thing for the "jumping-off" adaptations. Personally, if I love the book, I'm going to see the film based on it. I go in knowing full well that the movie is a different beast and so I don't expect it to be exactly the same, nor do I expect it to cover every single detail from the book.

Uncovered is an adaptation of Arturo Pérez-Reverte's book "The Flanders Panel." I believe this was the first book of his I had ever read and it drew me in, making me a fan of his writing. I have read almost everything of his that has been translated into English (and I often

regret that my Spanish is not good enough to read untranslated work). As a note, I saw almost everything because I believe I have two of his recent books on my shelf waiting to be read. He has a great way of writing that gets the reader into the story, involved, interested, and drives them to the very satisfying ending. In fact, one of his books (The Painter of Battles) actually made me so tense while reading it that it was tough to continue, yet I had to. The Flanders Panel is the story of Julia who works in restoring and cleaning paintings. While she is cleaning this specific painting, she notices that there is something written, under the top layer of paint. This leads her on a journey to uncover the mystery behind the painting, and the subject of it. It also involves quite a bit of chess play which I found really interesting (though I don't play). As she attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery, those who have been helping her are slowly being killed off. Now, I grew up reading Agatha Christie, and the Hardy Boys, so I am a big fan of mystery novels. Pérez-Reverte's novels have never disappointed me....except that there are still some that are untranslated.

The film adaptation...well...lets just say that Kate Beckinsale was still in the early stages of her film career. Actually, I won't put the blame on her. The whole style of the film, and the acting choices are not as good as I would want them to be. Beckinsale plays Julia and is fine, though the fact that a friend of mine recommended it to me because she has a nude scene....so if that is all he remembers of the film, that says something. The rest of the cast though - John Wood, Sinéad Cusack, Peter Wingfield, and Paudge Behan. There are some very beautiful actors in this film, and some gorgeous scenery - but the film just doesn't work for me. It is one of those adaptations which (from what I recall) sticks fairly close to the book, but just doesn't work on film. Perhaps it is the performances, perhaps it is the adaptation, or the direction. Any way you slice it, it is a film that is worth seeing once...but not a keeper for me. EVEN though this man is in it. woof.