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But theres a related, opposite reaction that can also occur.
Lets call it festival meh.
And yet too damned entertaining to be dismissed as a bust.
None of this should actually surprise anyone.
Theres a reason they say that.
Because it sort of is.
(We owe to DeLillo the enduring popularity of the poetic phrase airborne toxic event.)
Most of the dialogue in the movie comes verbatim from the novel.
They play the dialogue as a kind of verbose comedy, and its quite hilarious.
Baumbach does something else here, however, and its quite fascinating (and effective at times).
(Theres even a playfully crescendoing Danny Elfman score.)
The Gladney familys automotive exodus in the wake of the toxic cloud becomes a goofy, grandiose car chase.
I never imagined Id laugh so hard while watching a movie adaptation of Don DeLillosWhite Noise.
Baumbach has clearly connected with a latent cinematic quality in the authors work.
But his reverence can be a double-edged sword.
