Just picked up this DVD on a whim and thought it was a nice little movie.BUT it was clearly an uncredited adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes story, "A
Scandal in Bohemia."
It bothered me that no acknowledgement was made anywhere--not in the credits,
the "source" extra, or in as much of the self-serving director's commentary as
I made it through (about 40 minutes). Does Jake Kasdan ever acknowledge his
source? Did any of the reviews point it out?
There's nothing wrong with an adaptation per se. But a writer/director secure
in his own abilities wouldn't need to hide the fact that his inspiration lay
elsewhere. Knowing "Apocalypse Now" was based on Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"
didn't diminish it. Even the Ethan Hawke/Gwynneth Paltrow modernized "Great
Expectations" at least acknowledged its origins.
It was really annoying to hear Kasdan's commentary revelling in his
"innovative" spin with the detective/love story, and talking about how hard it
was for him not to think of them as "his" characters and let them have the
autonomy to belong to themselves, and blah blah blah. In actuality, they were
Arthur Conan Doyle's characters--all of them. And the plot. And the themes of
the brilliant detective unable to cope with socialization and his first and
only stirrings of romantic interest in an intellectual equal were all explored
in Doyle's story, and in the wonderful TV adaptation for the Jeremy Brett
series.
BTW, the Brett series would sure be nice to have on DVD. It'd be a sure sell
with me.
Anyways, if you liked "Zero Effect," you might want to look up the original
sometime.
Cheers,
Philip Brandes
