The Goldfinch, famously painted in 1654 by Carel Fabritius, has since inspired Donna Tartt’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name, and currently, its movie adaption directed by John Crowley. With a story that follows a young boy whose fate seems to be intertwined with the painting, there was no better way to experience something so influenced by art than from within an art gallery.
On September 19, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) hosted an intimate screening of the film with an introduction by AGO Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Julian Cox. It was through his introduction that the powerful history of The Goldfinch was elaborated, with Cox explaining that it may be “the most valuable painting in the world, per square inch” and that it was well worth a visit to The Hague to experience it firsthand.
This was certainly an impactful way to begin our experience with The Goldfinch, however, the film fell just short of doing justice to both the painting and the critically acclaimed novel. Not having read the novel, I relied on the eventual piecing together of the films multiple vignettes to answer many of the questions raised by the film. The film raises these questions and introduces important characters in the same moment it completely glosses over or forgets them.
Through Theo (Oakes Fegley and Ansel Elgort), the film’s tortured protagonist, we span across years, cities, and instances that all seem to embody the spirit of The Goldfinch; simultaneously haunting and comforting him from the moment his mother is killed in a bombing. Through falling in love with Pippa (Ashleigh Cummings), living with the Barbours—spearheaded by matriarch Mrs. Barbour (Nicole Kidman)—finding safety and purpose through Hobie (Jeffrey Wright), and experiencing abuse through his father Larry Decker (Luke Wilson) and girlfriend Xandra (Sarah Paulson), Theo’s life in every moment is defined by The Goldfinch and the moment it came into his life at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, it is through the film’s portrayal of Boris (Finn Wolfhard and Aneurin Barnard) that there seems to be an extreme discrepancy between the novel and the film, and in this the discrepancies of other characters and moments are amplified as well. Though Elgort’s despondent performance does an excellent job of capturing the heartbreak Theo experiences through a life that is anything but fair, the gaps left in storytelling do a disservice to many of the other actors whose performances deliver as lacklustre in comparison. In fact, it was only through reliance on my friend who had read the novel that many of the plot holes were filled and that greater credit could be given to characters that should have played an integral role to the heart and spirit of the story. In her words, “The Goldfinch didn’t capture the depth of the relationships Theo builds over the years and doesn’t develop important characters, like the relationship Theo had with the Barbours—especially with Andy and Mrs. Barbour. His relationship with Boris and Hobie is also neglected in ways that make you feel as though you missed what drove the novel and should have driven the film.” However, she also adds, “Even though many of these moments felt rushed, their staging was identical to how I imagined it reading the novel, so in that way, I really appreciated the cinematography and set design.”
To Theo, The Goldfinch acts as a tether between him and a moment that changed his life forever. It serves as a physical symbol for him to grasp onto the memory of his mother, and a way to remember a time in which life didn’t seem so cruel and relentless. While sitting in the heart of one of North America’s largest galleries, the impact that art has on us all was tangibly felt, and also one of the many reasons the emotional impact of The Goldfinch seemed lost in the creation of the film, leaving fans of the novel perhaps a little disappointed in the level of detail that was missed in favour of moments that seemed to span much longer than needed. Though the magic found in The Goldfinch for Theo and readers alike seems just out of reach, The Goldfinch does still manage to remind us that it is the way in which art inspires our lives and our relationships that we can perhaps use to find compassion for others, and for ourselves.
Review: The Goldfinch
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