A best-selling novel as a basis for the script and a controversial plot could not save “The Da Vinci Code” from one major flaw: terribly written, at times even laughable, dialogue. The talents of Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou and Ian McKellen couldn’t even help the cheesy dialogue.
“The Da Vinci Code,” based on the book of the same name by Dan Brown, centers on a treasure hunt through Europe, spurred by a very strange crime scene from a murder committed in the Louvre. Professor Robert Langdon, played by Hanks, is a master of symbols brought to the crime scene because of his expertise and the unusual configuration of the dead body. He is soon joined by a cryptographer for the Paris police, Sophie Neveu, played by Tautou. What follows is a wild escapade through Europe looking for clues to solve an ancient mystery.
Hanks seems to go through the movie in a daze, as though not even trying to make his lines sound more realistic. Tautou, star of the popular French movie “Amélie”, seems to be trying a bit too hard; her dialogue and smiles look forced, though at times the charm that won over audiences in “Amélie” comes through. The only one who seems to be enjoying himself in his role is McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing. He plays the conspiracy-theory-obsessed knight with enthusiasm.
Perhaps the cheesiness should be a given considering the type of book “The Da Vinci Code” is. It is the sort of book grocery shoppers may find at the checkout or at an airport – a quick travel read. “The Da Vinci Code” did not receive so much attention because of author Dan Brown’s writing, but rather because of its controversial content. The movie follows the book near-perfectly, except for a few minor differences and less detail. The film transcribes the book to the screen, including the poorly written dialogue.
The casting seems a bit odd for this movie, in particular the casting of Hanks as Langdon, mainly because he is slightly old for the part. Brown himself, if he were an actor, might have been best to play the part. He has the scholarly look; he is also not too old nor too young. It seems he truly wrote himself into the main character of his novel. Either way, someone who was young enough to have a plausible romance with Tautou as Sophie would have been nice, instead of a boring father-like kiss on the forehead at the end.
Despite its faults, “The Da Vinci Code” is still an exciting thriller with twists until the end. It contains the suspense and excitement – car chases, gun fights and enemies at every turn – that inspired the book to be such a quick read. The mix of travel throughout Europe while visiting important historical monuments, the introduction of intriguing possibilities about Jesus’ life, the puzzles to be solved and the non-stop action make for a compelling and interesting movie that does not feel lengthy even though it is two and a half hours long.
A testament to the book’s lasting power, and why in the end it was still made into a film worth seeing, is the fact that it gets people to question religion and art, and to view them in a different light. While the plot is entirely fictional, it is not impossible. That possibility is what makes conspiracy theories so exciting.
‘The Da Vinci Code’ is cracked by cheesy dialogue and awkward casting
Daily Emerald
May 24, 2006
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