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ACTOR
Claire BloomDaniel LavoieSusannah YorkJulian Glover
DIRECTOR
Claude Fournier
SYNOPSICS
The Book of Eve (2002) is a English movie. Claude Fournier has directed this movie. Claire Bloom,Daniel Lavoie,Susannah York,Julian Glover are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2002. The Book of Eve (2002) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
A Romanian immigrant (Daniel Lavoie) uses good food, good humor and good conversation to break down the walls around a reclusive woman's (Claire Bloom) heart.
The Book of Eve (2002) Trailers
The Book of Eve (2002) Reviews
Love this movie.
** I don't think I really added any spoilers, but that message about being blacklisted is scary man. I don't know what is considered a spoiler here. I certainly didn't talk about anything more than the preview for the movie shows. ** I just happened to catch this movie on TMN, and loved it. I had been trying to find it to buy for months. It's one of those movies that makes me happy! I think the story is beautiful. Just to see this woman totally start over, and seeing where fate will take her. The movie creates this awesome atmosphere, this feeling of being connected to the story while you're watching. I loved the way she rented this crappy little apartment, and ended up turning it into a home. It shows you that it's possible to take control of your life, and find happiness no matter what situation you're in. I also liked the love story component. I grew so tired of the same old young sexy guy and young sexy girl fall in love, blah blah, the end. This felt real, and was actually enjoyable to watch, not predictable. Definitely one of my favorite movies.
It's never too late to change your life story
This lovely Canadian feature has Claire Bloom, playing younger than her real age and looking plump, as an English woman who leaves her marriage after 40 years. Although the narrative presents living on the pension as near-homelessness, with Bloom rifling through garbage to find useful items, her new life also happens to provide her with a protective boarding-type house, and a romance with a younger man. The romance is helped by the charm of Danjel Lavdie who plays off Bloom's elegance - though she uses a manic laugh to suggest that isn't totally a lady. The treatment features an unintentional laugh in a gay man's line "I've never seen someone so careless with his (chess) queen", and a funny intentional exchange between Bloom and her ogre husband - "Couldn't ply your legs apart with a crowbar", "That probably wasn't the best way to try". Susannah York pops up as Bloom's oldest friend, but she is featured in some of director Claude Fournier's ill-advised fantasy scenes - one where a boy in a thong parades for both women, and others where the characters are outlined with white light.
Criminal adaptation of the book
Let me get this out of the way first - I absolutely loved the book and was consequently appalled at what happened along the way on its transition to this shallow, hackneyed, over-acted movie. I have loved Claire Bloom for years but here she is grotesque, all gestures and wide-eyed enunciations as if she were on stage. Truly a string of false notes from start to finish of her desperate performance. There is absolutely no chemistry between herself and Johnny played by Daniel Lavoie who is himself drawn in the most despicable of Eastern European caricatures, all brains, pitiful accented English and unrecognized talent, oozing sexuality and not fussy about whom he gloms it on to. Alcoholic too to blur the edges and allow a good older Canadian woman to show him the error of his ways. Susannah York is wasted as well, pulled into some gluey stagey dialogue with her old friend Eva. Cringe making. Appalling. Avoid. 3 out of 10.
this film is awful
The film starts like a promising story about the struggles of an old lady who decides to leave her husband and financially secured but dissatisfied life for a new beginning. However, it quickly turns into a really cheesy love story. If you are a senior citizen who loves to read third class romance books this film might be appealing for you, but if you want something deeper just stay away from it. I am not against love stories but i am against the way they are handled, the way this film is handled in particular. It is a one dimensional shallow story in which everything goes just smooth. Even if some problems occur, they are there to be solved easily so that everybody, especially the audience will feel happy. This film might be a perfect textbook about how a good idea can be wasted for the sake of reaching average television audience. I also really hated the way Johnny character is depicted, as because this character does not reflect the reality even a bit. The likelihood that you will hit an average Romanian who is highly intellectual who has the best taste of everything, who can play piano, who has famous artist relatives if he is not himself an artist, who also have carpenter abilities, and also the perfect romantic lover, is not more than the likelihood you will hit such a guy from your own local town. This character might be only reflecting the image of a middle-European man in the fantasies of western world. But again, I don't think the producers cared about anything other then trying to shoot the most corny film ever.
Something lacking
I did not know that this was an adaptation from a book and therefore had no expectations. I picked up this movie hoping it would be a satisfying romance - sadly, the film did not live up to the DVD summary text. Maybe it was the adaptation as a screenplay that made this story seem shallow and fantastical. To echo a previous comment I felt no chemistry between the 2 main characters (Claire Bloom and Daniel Lavoie). I have admired Claire Bloom's work for many years but she was given nothing to work with in this screenplay - just an air of resignation and acceptance. ***Here Be Spoilers*** Eve's first appearance is as the abused and worn-out spouse of a boorish semi-invalid. She is nothing more to him than an unpaid caregiver. Her pension cheque arrives which prompts her to quit her affluent yet tedious life where she is taken for granted, pack 2 bags and her Bose(TM) radio, and catch a cab into the city. Despite giving all her youth and energy to her spouse, children and home (per a traditional 50s-style marriage) her husband immediately closes their joint bank account so she is left without financial support other than her pension. Then follows a sequence of events that just seem too good to be true. With no destination in mind she happens to exit her taxi right outside a boarding house where there happens to be a vacancy. The landlady happens to have a heart of gold and Eve is able to move into a fully furnished, upholstered and kitted-out bed-sit. Despite it being on the ground floor with an external door there are no bugs, pests, damp or rodents inside the suite. In any other house (minus living room furniture) this space would be classified as the "mud room". She soon crosses paths with other occupants of the apartment building but they are just background movement without history or interaction except for the gay couple who have a public break-up on the staircase. Then one of the other residents gets so drunk he passes out outside her room. Hey presto - potential love-interest. He turns out to be an Eastern European intellectual who has run away from the regime of his country of origin leaving behind family and friends. His close relations are renowned artists, he can play piano, is a fantastic cook and can turn his hand well to anything. (In reality his country's government would likely be applying punitive measures to his relatives for his defection and his children would be held back from any career they may wish to follow.) Eve is able to subsist on funds from pawning her jewellery, and is disappointed to discover that a name-brand wristwatch - a gift from her husband - is a knock-off and practically worthless. A rather telling indication of their relationship. Then, hey presto, while scavenging household items put out on the street by other home-owners something catches her eye. She cleans it up and it turns out to be a sculpture by a well-known artist. Her pawn-shop owner friend is persuaded to display it prominently in his shop window, gets it assessed and, hey presto, it's worth something. (The monetary value is never disclosed in the dialogue but it seems to be rather a lot because they celebrate with champagne.) ***End of Spoilers*** By this time I had become bored with the story. There are no highlights, no periods of desperation, no joy, no misery - just banality. Character backstories are minimal or non-existent and Eve's physical appearance never suffers from her lack of funds for maintenance. She never goes hungry, when she catches a cold she soon recovers, she seems to find exactly what she needs when she needs it, etc. etc. When she meets her grand-daughter or son there is no real warmth in their interactions. Her son tries to guilt her into feeling sorry for the selfish husband - who has already imported a younger fresh model as his new caregiver and appears to be much more agile than he ever was when Eve was living with him. Her best friend (played by Susannah York) is the only bright spark in this dismal film and when it ended my immediate thought was "Is that all?".