I watched The Theory of Everything the other evening. Actually, I watched half of it then went to bed. The acting was fantastic. But the story was so depressing and deliberately paced that I felt both bored and repelled. I got a similar feeling while watching The English Patient—great acting but such an actionless downer that it wasn’t worth the considerable time.
This reminds me of an old acting axiom. Make your characters and actions as realistic as possible. But never ever make them boring. For me, the same applies to movies – and writing.
There must be some out there who want to see the step-by-step progression of debilitating illness. I guess I’m not one of them.