Which is better -- the book or the movie?
The Painted Veil
W. Somerset Maugham
Director John Curran tempers the melancholy setting of Maugham's 1925
novel — China during a cholera epidemic — with vibrant landscapes and an extra fillip of romance in the marriage between a British doc (Edward Norton) and his wife (Naomi Watts).
Last Word Maugham's story becomes both more harrowing and tender on the big screen. — Hannah Tucker
The Good German
Joseph Kanon
Screenwriter Paul Attanasio reframes Kanon's post-WWII thriller by
tweaking the ending and alternating between three narrators: journalist
Jake (George Clooney), his lost love Lena (Cate Blanchett), and his
driver (Tobey Maguire).
Last Word Though Steven Soderbergh's B&W cinematography is exquisite, Kanon's novel is more thought-provoking. — Michelle Kung
