Wednesday, October 17, 2007
I Am Legend - Book Review - 10/10
Matheson's classic tale of the last man on earth's battle against plague-ridden...vampires? That's right, before Romero ever set hordes of zombies loose upon the silver screen, Matheson had already done it, albeit with vampires. While it can be enjoyed on the surface as an excellent horror-thriller, it is also a strong exploration of the concept of what it means to be human, issues of violence and race domination. It will be interesting to see how the forthcoming film adaptation handles these subtleties, as well as whether or not the poignantly bleak ending will be retained or not. A short, but highly rewarding read. One of my top 10 of all time.
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This is a book I discovered by accident when a friend said "Oh, you like vampires? Read this." And am I ever glad I did! It is full of such quiet agonies and such subtle notions of humanity versus monstrosity. It is relentlessly bleak, especially as it draws to it's inexorable close, but it's a necessary and beautiful bleakness. I love it. I love because, despite the vampiric suggestions which entice me, it's fully human. And so well written.
ReplyDeleteI have serious doubts about the movie adaptation. I dislike Will Smith. I don't have high expectations for Hollywood's ability to do subtlety and quiet suggestion of underlying theme. And above all, I fully expect test audiences to hate the original ending and prompt the studio to change it to a happier, easier to swallow one. We'll see. But for now the book is a perfect little gem and I'm okay with there never being a movie.
I've always wanted to adapt it into a more-or-less one man stage production, which takes place entirely in Neville's living quarters. This most recent read affirmed the possibility of such a production, as well as the emotional impact such a work could have.
ReplyDeleteWell that is a collaborative project worthy of our combined talents if I've ever heard one! I'm overly familiar with stageplays now (working in the industry as I do) and you're a brilliant writer... what say? Solo show script collaboration? It wouldn't need to take tons of time. Emails and chats to establish story framework and what scenes to drop. Then work on the monologues. Could be a great Fringe entry.
ReplyDeletelol. I'm interested! But...only when the thesis is done!
ReplyDeleteDone. Hehe. I'll start a re-read and you let me know when your thesis is complete. :)
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