It had to be written.
THE DA VINCI CODE
Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen
Dir: Ron Howard – 2006 – USA
As one who hasn’t read the book by Dan Brown, I am commenting on the film as a standalone. And as a standalone, the film does well.
Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is a Harvard Professor of Symbology and is in France to give a seminar to a group of French students. He is due to meet the curator at the Louvre, Jacques Saunière, but Saunière is murdered before their meeting. However, Saunière leaves a code for his granddaughter, Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), to find Langdon and solve the mystery of his death. Before long, Langdon is accused of Saunière’s murder, and they go in search of Saunière’s killers with the help of Sir Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen), a veteran theologist, who reveals to them the story of the greatest conspiracy on Earth.
This is possibly the most controversial religious film since The Passion of the Christ, but even as Dan Brown, the novel’s author notes, it is a work of fiction. And honestly, I think it is rather harmless and quite fantastical. No evidence was ever presented in the film, just a lot of speculation. I don’t know whether this is true for the book, but it certainly didn’t present anything that would have swayed me from the normal teachings, and I’m not religious.
Controversy aside, there are plenty of twists and conundrums for the viewer to partake in if you’re interested in that type of thing. A few action sequences provide some excitement and suspense, although in some places it was a bit one dimensional, thankfully though, that was rare. It isn’t the most challenging role for Tom Hanks, who felt underchallenged, Audrey Tautou’s performance was good, but certainly Sir Ian McKellen shows why he is one of the hottest older actors in cinema today.
In terms of balance for a standalone film, I think it worked. Those who have read the book will no doubt be complaining – in the 2 hours of the film, there must be a few things left out. But in all honesty, as a film buff, I can’t see that you could really could cram any much more in. It would have been too much, or the scenes would be too short. Personally, I found it entertaining and a film that provoked thought. One for the non-readers to have a thrill.
Links:
IMDb Entry
Sony Pictures: The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown Official Website