Response to Death and the Maiden

            I think this was by far my favorite movie that was shown in this class. For once, I was fully engaged in the film from beginning to end and could not wait to finish the rest of it. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading the play since it took grabbed my attention. The film was simple but had so much going on. Who knew a movie about three people in one room could make for such an intense thriller. There was always suspense and it really kept me hooked. The book did a good job of describing the scenes and helping paint the image for the reader which I think is necessary in order to understand the severity of the situation.

            I found myself conflicted with the characters in regards to the movie and the play. In the play I was not annoyed by any of the characters actions and I sympathized with Paulina the entire time. I was not bothered by her husband in the play but I was in the film. The film did a better job of showing who the characters really are and how they were reacting to the situation. It was hard to notice all of it in the play itself. While watching the film I was constantly angered by the husband because he was such a pushover. He lacked backbone and worried too much. It made him seem weak and useless. I appreciated his role though because no movie should have only actors or actresses that everyone likes. As for Dr. Miranda I was only bothered by his strange accent he acquired when saying certain things, I found it distracting even though it’s such a minor thing. He played his role well and it made me hate him for lying and for potentially having hurt women.  

As for Paulina, I was back and forth with her in the film unlike with the play. Most of the time, I felt bad for Paulina and all that she endured when she was held captive. However, I also was highly annoyed with her and wanted to yell at her a few times. She was powerful and independent at times which made me root for her. At other times she needed too much attention and interrupted everyone. She needed to just sit back and listen instead of jumping in every three seconds. She can’t get a confession if all she does is talk nonstop. She was too pushy at times and even treated her husband terribly. She yelled at him and forced him to play along and did not take his thoughts into consideration. She got off topic so often like when she asked her husband how many times he slept with a certain woman. It bothered me that she could not let a single thing in life go.

            Despite all of this character annoyance, I enjoyed that it made me feel so many emotions and made me think.  The Reluctant Fundamentalist did not keep my attention the same way and I despised the book in comparison to the movie. Death and the Maiden kept the two similar expect the film was more vulgar and the ending was explained differently. The Reluctant Fundamentalist was entirely different all together and the movie was the only tolerable one of the two. I barely even recall what all happened in the film.

            Film is made to be more vulgar because it grabs attention to see and hear things a certain way. A book cannot depict as much emotion or tone of voice. They have to increase the entertaining aspect for films since people expect much more visual excitement from them. Books are only able to describe and attempt to help you see something or someone. A movie can actually make you feel as if you are part of what is happening and actually witnessing it. Also, books include more to them in most cases because films are so elaborate that they can only include so much unless they make a super long movie.