GENIUS: A Compelling Literary Film About Thomas Wolfe (2016)

This last week, I randomly saw Genius advertised on my Facebook page a few times, was impressed by the cast, could tell it was a period piece, and from the title, assumed it was a thinker. 

So I suggested my friend Robin have friends over to watch it on her big screen in the basement. Weirdly, everyone agreed, also knowing nothing about the film. We all loved it. I won't spoil the plot. Below is a quick explanation of the who and what without giving much away.

Genius is a 2016 "four star" film looking at the lives of Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law) and his editor at Scribner, Max Perkins, (Colin Firth) during the publication of Wolfe's first and second books. I didn't know that Hemingway and Fitzgerald were also both "jumping the pond" in search of a publisher, both also landing at Scribner. (They each have cameos in the film.)  

Admitting this next part makes me sad, but while I could come up with several novels I've read of Hemingway's and Fitzgerald's (not an unusual feat for a sixty-year-old English teacher), at first I couldn't even come up with the title of Wolfe's most famous text. (I had for sure of course heard of Look Homeward, Angel, but sadly knew nothing about it.)  If you have read it, please respond and tell me what you thought of it!

Wolfe is portrayed in the film as a WILD CARD and Max as incredibly patient, brilliant and almost fatherly. The other main characters are Laura Linney (Max's wife) and Nicole Kidman (Mrs. Bernstein, Wolfe's lover and initial muse). Style-wise, I wouldn't call the movie slow, but it takes its time in that "quoting a page of literature on occasion" kind of way.  It was somehow riveting and definitely worth it if you like a literary film that you don't have to give a rat's ass about a class of seventeen year olds enjoying. This I recommend just for you. 

I am heading to the Franklin Library tomorrow to snag their copy of Look Homeward, Angel--it looks like its over 500 pages, and I certainly won't be  finishing this summer. I just plan to hang at the PLDM and read it for an hour, but right now I've got two novels and several nonfiction books going. But should I read it someday?  Like my friend Robin says, "You've got to love Southern writers." She's got a point. 

Anyway, watch the film! It's on various networks right now.--we watched it on Tubi. I told my friends, "I don't know who I'd recommend this to other than you guys." But I'm definitely recommending it to you! Genius is a compelling film filled with literary brain candy. You're the target audience. If you like this movie, we can be friends.