I Am the Cheese (1983)

A film by Robert Jiras • Starring Robert MacNaughton (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Robert Wagner (Austin Powers, Hart to Hart), and Hope Lange (The Ghost & Mrs. Muir)In this captivating adaptation of Robert Cormier’s best-selling novel, 14-year-old Adam Farmer seeks to uncover a secret lost in his subconscious that will allow him to locate his parents, who have disappeared mysteriously. Suspense mounts as Adam pieces together the fragments of the story with the help of his psychiatrist, uncovering fantastic clues which lead to a shocking conclusion. "It's DEAD POETS SOCIETY meets THE X FILES! MacNaughton is endearing, and the presence of the then-innocent Cynthia Nixon is a guilty pleasure." - FILMCRITIC.COM "Homespun simplicity! Robert MacNaughton, who played the older son in E.T., makes a gentle and sympathetic Adam." - THE NEW YORK TIMES DVD Bonus Features: Trailers • Director’s Bio • Photo Gallery. 100 minutes, color, Rated PG

I didn't want to like it as much as I did

Watching movies of books I love, I immediately concede two things:

1) There will be omissions. Anything longer than a novella is too long to fit into a feature-length film.

2) They will miss, to some extent, the tone, the mood of the book. Prose has powers film lacks, I guess, when it comes to affecting emotion.

Well, there were omissions, but not too many. They hit all of the major plot points with most or all of the dialogue straight out of the book.

And yes, they missed he tone completely for almost te entire movie. I mean it wasn't even close. But like I said, my expectations in this aspect were low coming in, so I wasn't surprised. And there were a couple of scenes, after all, most notably the diner scene with the bullies, that almost had me feel like I was back in the book.

Two things really p***ed me off about this adaptation:

1) The music. I know, it's nitpicky, and this complaint is due to a personal preoccupation with music in general. It might not bother you, but the score failed utterly to support any of the events. In fact, at times it was so diametrically opposed in theme to the action on screen I had to chuckle. This may not bother you the way it did me.

2) The ending. Yes, they f***ed with the ending. I won't tell exactly how, but, fans of the book, be prepared to be filled with the desire to throw heavy objects at the TV in the last 60 seconds or so. Screwing up the ending is another phenomenon common to film adaptations of books, so I wasn't shocked, but I don't excuse it like I can the two faults mentioned above. If you believe in the authors work enough to mke a film of it, then believe in it COMPLETELY.

However, while I was putting the DVD back in its case to go back to the library, I felt just little of what I had felt after reading the book, an intense sadness. Despite my complaints, the movie really did get to me. I can't say exactly why, maybe because it didn't try to get too fancy or cute, like it stayed out of its own way mostly. I'm not calling a great adaptation, but darn it if it didn't somehow reach me.

If you're a fan of the book, you might not like it. But hey, you might. March 14, 2008

High Priced Movie

This is one of my favorite movies. I dont understand why it is so expensive and so hard to find I have an old VHS version I bought for $5.00 It is a very good story but not worth the price. October 14, 2007

I am the Cheese

I thought this movie portrayed the book very well. I would still HIGHLY recommend reading the book though before you watch the movie or you will feel "lost". February 9, 2007

DISJOINTED

This film is hard to follow. It keeps jumping back and forth in time and from scene to scene. It has some interesting segments, but it wasn't put together too well...and leaves a person wanting more answers at the end. Acting was pretty good, but some characters not developed enough. August 16, 2006

Adam still pedals on is lonely bike ride in my mind..

        I first read this book when I was in the 7th grade. I didn't understand it all then, because there are a lot of levels to the story. I so identified with Adam, felt so alone, felt all this stuff inside me, wanted to be a writer and kept a journal full of what was in my head, felt like screaming and screaming and never stopping. I'd read the book twice, I think, when I chanced upon the movie late one night on cable more than 20 years ago. I was with a friend, and couldn't really let myself go into the movie like I wanted, but remembered liking it, and especially the punch (you'll know what I'm talking about if you see the movie). I spent years looking for a copy, and finally found a VHS copy, which I promptly ordered.

         When it showed up, I took the TV and the VCR and set them up in my bedroom and sat on my bed in the corner to watch it. This was such a personal story to me, I wasn't going to share that first watching with anyone. It was...very very well done. The story has changed slightly from the book, especially the parts with Amy, but I was glad to see them. I'd have loved it being just like the book, of course, but the changes made, kind of give Adam an "adolescent growing up" feel. The soundtrack is very subdued, but perfect. Violin, Oboe, Cello, I'm not sure which is used, but it's about the only instrument used through much of the film, and it really adds that touch of loneliness, of being so alone, especially on Adam's bike ride. There's a bit of music that plays at times throughout that mimics part of "The Farmer in the Dell" that has stayed with me all these years, as Adam, eternally riding his father's bike on that lonely ride to Monument in my head. They both play together in my mind.

         Robert MacNaughton, who played Elliot's older brother in "E.T.", was the perfect Adam. I've seen several different covers for the book, one of which shows a boy, who looks to be about 8 years old at the most, in some kind of prison cell or something similar. And while the feel of the cover captures the essence of the book, the boy is far too young. Robert MacNaughton is just the right age and does such a great job in this, you have to wonder why his acting career never took off. As I'm watching this, he IS Adam. It's like there isn't any acting involved. Someone followed Adam around with a camera filming his life, and released it as a movie.

         Some people talk about the cold relationship he and Doctor Brint have, how unrealistic it is, and thus makes a poorer movie. I disagree completely. For Adam's part, all that has happened to him, though he can remember only parts of it, have lead him to be distrustful of anybody in authority (in fact, that was the theme of Cormier's book, man versus government/authority and how man ultimately loses), and Brint is certainly an authority figure, and one who seems to be trying get specific things out of Adam, all the while trying to help him. There's at least one scene where Brint is asking him specific questions and Adam starts to get paranoid and asks repeatedly to end the session. So it's no surprise Adam doesn't warm up completely to Doctor Brint. And as for Brint's part, he knows, ultimately, what is going to happen to Adam once he gets all the information his superiors are wanting, and thus I can easily see him not wanting to get close to this particular patient. Part of him just wants to think of Adam as a tool, so when the eventual end happens, it won't affect him emotinally, but another part of him is still the doctor, wanting to help, and can't distance himself completely. Which is why, at the end of the movie, he does nothing when he sees Adam through the window, on his bike, riding near the van.

         The only actor I had problems with was Adam's father (Don Murray), who gives a completely wooden performance in this, which is surprising considering I've seen him do a fine job in other movies, like "Quarterback Princess," and "Peggy Sue Got Married."

         This has the feel of a low-budget movie, but that very feel works to its benefit. More money, a slicker production, would have taken away from the essence of the movie, that core feeling that runs through both the movie and the book.

         The movie begins with Adam waking up, putting on his coat and picking up a wrapped package, and starting off on his bike. It switches after a bit to Adam in a room, meeting Doctor Brint. It switches back and forth between the bike ride and the psychiatric sessions with Brint, and scenes from Adam's life as Brint helps him to remember them. The bike ride is not uneventful, but always lonely, even when other people are encountered. The music meshes perfectly with the scenes, and once the movie is over, you find yourself thinking about all the different levels to this story. The book has them all, but the movie really helps to bring them out. The endings are different between the movie and the book, but unlike most book-to-movie adaptations, I don't mind. After years of living with the book, and that ride, and those sessions, in my head, I needed the ending the movie gave me.

         I highly recommend watching the movie and reading the book, most especially to those not yet adults, but to people of all ages. It is a tale that makes you think, that makes you feel, and doesn't just provide an hour and a half of entertainment easily forgotten when the next movie is on. This one will stay with you for a very long time, if not forever.

         I gave the movie 5 stars because it's better than 4. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate a 9, but that doesn't quite break down to 4 of 5. January 15, 2006

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