‘Still Life’ Movie Review

Movie Poster via Amazon

I had no idea Still Life by Louise Penny had been made into a movie while I was reading it. After I write a review, I always look at others’ reviews and see if I was alone or in the majority with my opinions. That’s when I read that there was a CBC movie from the book and luckily it was available for streaming on Hoopla through my library. It made for a nice night over the weekend while my husband was out-of-town.

Things I Thought Were Awesome

Seeing Jane’s house. It was as beautiful as I thought it would be. Seeing all those images on the wall, all her friends, family, and the people she loved all together and living around her made the home feel so welcoming and lovely. I only wish more of it had been shown as the book described it as the entire living room and second floor of the house.

Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Maybe I missed the part in the book where he was young and super cute or maybe that was a movie add. Either way, it was a nice touch. The actor looked really familiar and I guess I’m remembering him from White House Down because I haven’t seen any of the other movies or shows Anthony Lemke has been in.

 

Changes That Didn’t Really Bother Me

Taking out Jane’s romance. Her romance with Andreas was a nice story but it was a red herring and seemed to serve only to cast Ruth into a bad light. As an older woman, I had never considered her the one to shoot a hunting arrow through a friend mostly because she likely lacked the strength to do it. I was fine with this receiving a few lines of dialogue but not coming to much in the end.

Clara and Peter’s art. Art was such a big part of the plot in this story so not going more into Clara and Peter’s art and financial struggles made it unclear why Clara was so involved in the art show and why having money left to her by Jane would be so important. I think it’s something little that could have been added.

Cover image via Goodreads

Things That Were Taken Out and I’m Still Wondering Why

Nichol’s backstory. Without the head jumping that the book was able to do, it was hard to get into Nichol’s head and really understand where she was coming from with her rude comments and haughty attitude. Knowing a little about her family, their desire to see her rise, helped frame her terrible attitude a lot better.

Things That Changed Too Much

Clara and Ben’s relationship. This was a bit much for me. Knowing Clara and Ben had a romantic relationship really changes how you feel about him at the end. He was greedy enough to kill someone he loved twice (his mother and Clara) to keep his inheritance safe. This also drastically changed the relationship between Peter and Clara at the end of the story.

Overall, I thought this was very nicely done. There wasn’t too much changed between the book and the film which was refreshing after so many altered movies lately. It seems there has not been another book in the series made into a movie. I wonder if this one didn’t do well or if maybe there are some in the works. Reader, have you seen the Still Life movie? What did you think?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Advertisement