Surfacing (1981) Reviews

• Overall Good Adaptation

  fisher10002003-04-26

  This adaptation wasn't perfect, but covered most of the major plot action. The book is much more in depth, and I'm not sure that I liked having this vision in my mind, but the movie alone was enjoyable. This is one of my favorite novels, and I reread it often. The scene where Kate finds the answer she seeks is disturbing, but relieving. I don't get the same sort of "revelation" that I get from the novel, but had I not read the novel first, I would have enjoyed this movie more. Overall...not bad. This movie is worth checking into, especially if you are a fan of the book.

• Just what was the point of this?

  Wizard-82011-10-10

  First of all, I feel I should mention that I have never read the Margaret Atwood novel this movie is based on. (And considering how boring most Canadian literature is, I never will.) I am sure, however, that the novel had more detail and explanation than this movie did. The movie starts off being a quest for a lost parent, but as soon as the protagonists make it to the woods, this quest is almost completely forgotten until the last ten minutes or so! The bulk of the movie has the protagonists canoing or wandering through the woods. There seems to be no point to all this, except maybe to pad out the running time. Maybe this stuff happened in the novel, though I'm sure the novel got into the heads of the characters and maybe therefore given the story a point. The movie has acceptable production values, but the general good look of the movie will not keep viewers awake.