13-03-2016, 09:39 AM
(This post was last modified: 13-03-2016, 11:50 AM by Joseph McBride.)
Like Jim, I will wait to see the whole series
out of curiosity. I think the two best American
actresses today are Cherry Jones and Lili Taylor (who
is a regular on a TV series, AMERICAN CRIME, at present). Both are
sadly little-employed on feature films. Jones was
brilliant in the stage play THE HEIRESS and is
delightful in Tim Robbins's film CRADLE WILL
ROCK as Hallie Flanagan. Jones actually
plays Marguerite Oswald (i.e., one of the women
with that name) in 11/22/63. Jones played
the US president in the series 24, which
I never wanted to see. Taylor is riveting
in everything she does. She was especially
good as Valerie Solanas in I SHOT ANDY WARHOL.
She's also heartbreaking in DOGFIGHT. No,
she's not in 11/22.63. I digress.
I read the novel. I like a lot of King's work. His most
recent book, FINDERS KEEPERS, is excellent, a roman à clef
about J. D. Salinger and a deranged fan (sort of
like MISERY, another good book). But King is
highly uneven. His novels tend to go on too
long, much too long in some cases. The novel 11/22/63 is
one of those.
Much of it is the time-travel stuff that has
nothing to do with the assassination. For those
of us fascinated with that subject, it takes
forever to get there. I had the distinct impression
King had a half-baked and hackneyed time-travel
novel in the drawer that he tricked up by grafting on
the gimmick of having the hero travel to
Dealey Plaza. The doings there and the
portrayal of Oswald reflect dismal ignorance
on the part of the author. He did not do much
research. Relying on Gary Mack is of course
laughable and reprehensible. The book is
a major blot on King's career.
Read his book ON WRITING, which
is a marvelous textbook/autobiography. It
contains a riveting account of the strange
accident in which a driver seriously
injured him as he was walking along a road.
out of curiosity. I think the two best American
actresses today are Cherry Jones and Lili Taylor (who
is a regular on a TV series, AMERICAN CRIME, at present). Both are
sadly little-employed on feature films. Jones was
brilliant in the stage play THE HEIRESS and is
delightful in Tim Robbins's film CRADLE WILL
ROCK as Hallie Flanagan. Jones actually
plays Marguerite Oswald (i.e., one of the women
with that name) in 11/22/63. Jones played
the US president in the series 24, which
I never wanted to see. Taylor is riveting
in everything she does. She was especially
good as Valerie Solanas in I SHOT ANDY WARHOL.
She's also heartbreaking in DOGFIGHT. No,
she's not in 11/22.63. I digress.
I read the novel. I like a lot of King's work. His most
recent book, FINDERS KEEPERS, is excellent, a roman à clef
about J. D. Salinger and a deranged fan (sort of
like MISERY, another good book). But King is
highly uneven. His novels tend to go on too
long, much too long in some cases. The novel 11/22/63 is
one of those.
Much of it is the time-travel stuff that has
nothing to do with the assassination. For those
of us fascinated with that subject, it takes
forever to get there. I had the distinct impression
King had a half-baked and hackneyed time-travel
novel in the drawer that he tricked up by grafting on
the gimmick of having the hero travel to
Dealey Plaza. The doings there and the
portrayal of Oswald reflect dismal ignorance
on the part of the author. He did not do much
research. Relying on Gary Mack is of course
laughable and reprehensible. The book is
a major blot on King's career.
Read his book ON WRITING, which
is a marvelous textbook/autobiography. It
contains a riveting account of the strange
accident in which a driver seriously
injured him as he was walking along a road.