Caught parts of Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man the other day on TCM. The movie is based on ten of Papa’s Nick Adams short stories and parts of Farewell to Arms.
I’d seen bits of this movie long ago, and came away with the impression it wasn’t a great film. This time around confirmed that impression, but left me with another one. It is a good film. For several reasons.
The acting is excellent. Paul Newman as the punch-drunk Battler and Arthur Kennedy as Nick’s father stand out, but even Richard Beymer (Nick) was better than average. Susan Strasburg’s Italian accent was a little laughable. Perhaps they should have cast her as an American or English nurse working in Italy. Jessica Tandy was also good as Nick’s mother, but the character is so cold, distant, and unlikable, it’s hard to warm up to the performance.
The scenery was gorgeous. I’m speaking here primarily about the scenes in Northern Michigan. Fall on the lake, with gold and red leaves blowing off the trees, creates a lonely, wistful setting that mirrors Nick’s dysfunctional family life.
Finally, and maybe most importantly, much of the dialogue was borrowed directly from Hemingway’s work. I don’t know what it is about his writing that makes it so good. I went back and read several of the short stories from the movie, those that I either had not read or had not read for decades. The sentences are short, often choppy. He frequently repeats himself, especially during dialogue. There is little action. Yet, a genuineness comes across the page, making you feel you are experiencing things the way the characters do. It’s hard to describe. But I know I like it.