A movie review

Similar to the novel, the beginning of the movie is somewhat hard to follow. This is because the progression of Marlow's journey, near the beginning of the story, seems to be slow.  For a novel that continues to be read after over one hundred years since the original publication, the movie is not a completely satisfactory replication of the original story. It is not that the movie is inaccurate; however it is because the movie does not have a quality to keep an audience's attention to the extent that the movie would be considered as highly as the novel.

The movie is accurate enough that the overall plot of the story is not greatly affected by the minor modifications of the story. The basic premise of the story remains the same. Marlow is hired by a company to travel up the Congo River on a journey to meet Kurtz. Kurtz is as highly recognized in the movie as he is in the novel. At one point he is referred to as an "ethical genius". Kurtz is however, anything but an "ethical genius". He treats the natives of the area horrendously, beats and even trades the natives in exchange for ivory. The way Kurtz treats the natives is similar to how all of the black people are treated throughout the entire novel. This is quite similar to the novel; throughout the novel the "difference" between white people and black people is significantly large. This is because the story takes place during a time of colonialism and at this time the Congo is Belgian territory. Another very similar aspect of the movie is the adoration of Kurtz. He is viewed highly, almost as if he is a god. This is effectively represented by the Harlequin's character, which appears as though he worships Kurtz. Throughout the movie I noticed two quotes directly from the novel which I had thought were particularly important as well as interesting as I read. Both quotes are a reference to Kurtz. "You don't talk to that man, you listen to him" and "You cannot judge him as you judge and ordinary man", both quotes show how highly regarded Kurtz has become.

However there were a few more significant changes to the story. The two more significant changes happen at the beginning and near the end of the movie. At the beginning of the movie the other characters on the ship are not relaxing with Marlow as they are in the novel. The movie begins with Marlow arguing about the paper Kurtz left. As well the end is different; Kurtz does not die on their way back to Europe. In the movie Kurtz dies at the inner station and Marlow does not leave until after Kurtz has been buried. The two changes do not affect the overall plot however they do affect the story to some extent.

The producers accurately represented the novel, however the story could have been told more effectively. Minor changes could have created and overall more effective movie. The acting, as well as the accents of the characters, were poorly done, the movie also progressed slowly. Improvements to these few areas would have made the movie much more satisfactory.

Heart of Darkness. Dir. Roeg, Nicolas. Perf. Tim Roth, John Malkivich. Issach De Bankole. Chris/Rose Production, 1993. Film.