MovieChat Forums > The Goldfinch (2019) Discussion > Why was this such a flop? Why do people ...

Why was this such a flop? Why do people hate it?

posted 3 years ago by whynotwriteme (7725)
3 replies | jump to latest

I read the book in 2019 and I finally watched the movie yesterday. Although a lot of the material didn't make it to the film, I think they did a remarkable job condensing the story to a 2.5 hour movie.

I understand that many people complain that the characters in the movie were not well developed. Of course, I had already read the novel and knew exactly who was who and what they were all about. Maybe someone coming to the film without having read the book would not have enjoyed it as much as I did.

As it stands, in my opinion this is probably one of the top ten 21st century movies I have seen. People claim it bored them, but I, on the other hand, was thoroughly engrossed. I fall asleep in Avengers movies, but this kept me alert all the way.

[–] kenburke (2377) 3 years ago

I just saw The Goldfinch and, regretfully, was not impressed. It comes across as lacking in definition, too long, it simply doesn't work out. I suspect The Goldfinch suffers from the same flaw found in the first Dune movie and 2001 - A Space Odyssey: you have to have read the book to know what was going on. Also, the movie spent too much time on the kid character and not enough on the adult.

[–] Bolchevik (377) 3 years ago

I didn't read the book but I enjoyed the movie. I think it was a flop for the following reasons :

1. The movie doesn't seem to be able to attract viewers (personally, I watched by coincidence);
2. It's a study of human nature and many are not interested in such movies unfortunately;
3. Finally, it's a very sad movie and, again, a lot of people don't like that kind of movies;

[–] MichelleDessler (424) 3 years ago

Just finished watching the film and have never read the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I thought the score was beautiful and the cinematography was great (Roger Deakins). The story kept me gripped throughout. Not sure why it flopped. It felt like a coming of age film but was tragic too.

Just to note, I am a big fan of Avengers and love Marvel films apart from Eternals, which was a mess and Black Widow, which was a borefest and was not needed. :)

I would give The Goldfinch 4* out of 5.