We've all seen it, haven't we? He walked past us and spat in our faces without even explaining why. Meanwhile, we are still looking for a handkerchief to wipe our eyes and find out in which direction he ran to beat him up. No, I'm not talking about the guy who bullied you at school (he's probably under house arrest or got someone pregnant) but that unrealistic live action called Death Note, released a few days ago on Netflix, the platform that fills the evenings of us antisocials. Do we really need to point out the obvious? This movie is bad, but not because "It's not true to anime / manga! 1! 1 !!". It is simply a waste of film, money and time, both for us and for the insiders.
After decades of transpositions, the passionate audience continues to make the same mistake: pretending that a film inspired by a work is faithful to the original in all and for all. My brothers, the time has come to put your soul in peace and come to terms with the fact that changing the media also changes many of the characteristics of the starting subject. I still remember when, on the occasion of the release of the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie, people got excited about ForumFree (yes, I'm that old) because they didn't enter the CREPA organization founded by Hermione Granger. Even then people didn't realize that if they put all the content of the books on film, the film would be so long that in comparison we could consider The Best of Youth as a short film. When changing the means of transmission, such as from book to film, it is necessary to eliminate many “superfluous” elements both for a matter of timing and to make it more accessible to the general public. The average viewer, perhaps a stranger to the universe from which a film is inspired, will hardly accept a product that is too full of elements. I'm not saying we have to make every story frivolous, but putting too many elements in an hour and a half / two puts a lot of weight on the load and keeps a large part of the audience away. There are very complex successful films, full of symbolism and cultural references, (Eyes Wide Shut docet) but I assure you that it is not a perfect copy of the original subject. In two hours it is necessary to give the fundamental elements of a story in order to attract the elite audience and the average audience. And here's the other truth (suspense) it is the average viewers who fuel the film industry more than anyone else.
But what happens when not only are elements deleted, but they are changed? Is it really such a big mistake? Ni. If we want to shoot a film inspired by a video game or a manga set in Japan, we need to keep some cultural elements. So off to sailor uniforms, iron discipline, symbolism everywhere and esoteric elements common in Japanese culture (Svet and stereotypes). But let's face it, the Japanese film industry churns out movies unintentionally trash that hardly reach the general public. And this is where American productions come into play. In this case it is very easy for a story first set in the East to be modified and adapted in a Western context, dominated by cheerleaders and quaterbacks. This wouldn't be a problem if all of this wasn't done with the legs of a howler monkey! This was precisely the case with Death Note. An hour and forty of nothing. And that is precisely the real sin of this film, a ridiculous script based on nothing that does not entertain the average viewer and does not satisfy fans of the original work. I think this is the real failure of a film adaptation. For example, the first Tomb Raider movie (Santa Angelina Jolie) is not without flaws, but she manages very well in entertaining the public and in not making them regret the time spent too much. This is because the action scenes are enjoyable and the storyline is as simple as it is effective.
A bad script sometimes leads to bad characters. A protagonist with a slightly sketchy character and psychology could make someone turn up their noses, but if he remains consistent with himself and with his own carelessness then we can also forgive a little superficiality. Things get troubling when we're dealing with one characterization that does not exist. Light Turner (no, not Yagami) would delight many psychiatrists, as he probably has severe schizophrenia. In one scene he is the loser / lover doormat, in the next he becomes the tarot version of Patrick Bateman. The same goes for that sirocco of Mia (Misa Amane) and for L dressed as a black bloc. If we place all this in the sidereal void of the plot then we have the recipe for the worst movie par excellence. The general outrage, which arose for various reasons, has as its common denominator the dissatisfaction generated by a lack of care for a potentially valid product. Faced with all this, it is easy to fall into the usual speeches that refer to other products, which are not valued enough because of the scarce means and instead "look at these here, they have the money and they make lammmerda". But the public has great power, a power that I am not using at the moment but on the contrary, with the great strength of incoherence, I am suffocating and annihilating. The power of silence. The initial indignation is natural, and it is obvious to talk about it, but with the internet everything is amplified and even poor products have a resonance that they shouldn't have. So it would be better to have your say, and then remain silent and never touch the Death Note again. Then there will be someone else who will take it, just hope they make good use of it.
