Tartt's Goldfinch (book-film)

[ish mailian]

Characters are thin and the Gaddis (inspired) themes are blurred and
weakened by the film but the thing that got me was how the plot device
that gives the protagonist motivation and character is so clunky, so
contrived, his guilt and remorse and depression and addiction are all
down to his having been smoking in the boys room. Mom gets blown to
bits as she takes her boy to the museum to see, what else but the
painting, because Tartt needs them there when the bomb blows the
painting off the wall.

How about he got caught doing something in the museum? Like, he
touched a painting, argued, pushed, punched a guard or something. Now
mom comes to the museum to pick the lad up, give him a lesson on art
and mortality, fragility, forgery, and toss in a little art in the age
of mechanical reproduction stuff--tip cap to Gaddis to Benjamin, maybe
JOhn Berger and Sister Wendy ....