I don't like how this trailer made Gene look like such an evil guy. When he jiggled the limb, he wasn't trying to hurt Finny, he just didn't think through his actions.
@JoJo Fogarty Gene did it on purpose, though he didn't know that Finny would be this injured to the point where he would temporarily not play sports (I didn't finish the book yet)
He did do on purpose, but it was an impulsive, spur of the moment type thing. He didn't plan to hurt Phineas. He just let his conflicted feelings make a rash decision in that moment and he could never take it back.
Sorry, but I laughed at the part with Finny's body lying under the tree. Something about the heavy, dark music and his all-too-fake position caught me completely off guard. :3
The staging of this scene was obviously targeted to the large number of homosexuals who want to believe the whole story is about young gay love and the consequences/self loathing that accompany indulging in "the forbidden"
You had a Oscar Wilde moment, Sir ! to quote "you'd have to have a heart of stone not to laugh at the death bed scene of Little Nell" (Charles Dickens' Old Curiosity Shop)
No it didn't, if you believe anyone is gay for describing their same-gendered friend as good-looking, graceful, or things like beautiful, then that's sad. Those are just ways to describe people, I suppose.
Shattered Pitch yeah, but what about the description of Brinker's ass for a good ten lines? i'm not saying it's gay, i'm just saying it's kinda suspicious.
In the book you never really know if Gene actually did it to make Finny fall. This movie seems to say: "absolutely yes." I think I would of preferred it be mysterious instead of completely obvious.
I think the book made it clear that Gene did bounce the limb, I know this is hard to believe but that is what is so great about this novel and the complexity of the human condition.
The background music sounded very familiar. I then found it's being used by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to promote business and tourism in the state.
I remember reading this in school many moons ago. I'd never read another book at that age that referenced the intricate feelings of an insecure person like Gene. He couldn't see the value in his own attributes and didn't have enough trust in the sincerity of someone like Finny. The jealousy he had of Finny's athletic prowess coupled with his own insecurities, led to an impulsively cruel decision. Impulsive choices without consideration to the consequences can leave permanent damage. So much regret for Gene, for letting envy damage a pure friendship. The irony that the strong and healthy Finny was ultimately the more emotionally fragile and gentle soul, has always stayed with me.
ok this made me wildly uncomfortable uhh lmk y they made gene look like a literal serial killer in this trailer HDJDJFN the book is amazing but this is ,,,, sad
And regardless, I had never heard of this novel until last month when I saw it on the shelf of a random bookstore, and I studied English literature at university, so I guess it isn't as widespread as you assumed. Just because you had to read it for school doesn't mean everyone had to, nor does it mean people who like it, like me, are only liking it because someone told me it was good. Nobody recommended it to me; I still enjoyed it.
Its not lame! :3 It's actaully a really good book. Its really wordy though, and it gets boring at some points but it makes up for it because theres a TON of good scenes. Great book ^^
Wow, this is really good! It's very professional. I kind of think the loud thump effects could have been used more sparingly, but other than that I wouldn't have any idea it wasn't an official trailer.
what the book could not do==then--and what the movie fails to capitolize on NOW was that Finny and Gene loved each other---and Gene was jealous of finny's perfection--he killed the thing he loved through his dark soul. There is no other way to rationalize the extremes he went to--love can turn into hate.
I observed that John Knowles's A Separate Peace is required reading for many high schools especially those in the State of California. On the odd side, I have never heard of "Lord of the Flies" until I teach outside at centers offering IGCSE prep courses. That seems to be the British equivalent of this novel. I agree with TopHatGamer that I also did not really understand its implication when I had to read it in tenth grade. I was too young and inexperienced to understand.
It used to be. In San Francisco, we were required to read that, Catcher in the Rye, A Sun Also Rises, The Great Gatsby and at least parts of Plato's Republic. Alas, California School Districts have abolished any semblance of a classical education aka "no dead white men allowed."
Omg I fricking love this book. One of my favorites. So powerful and strong. I cant wait to watch the movie. Hehe coming from Netflix tomorrow. I love gene's accent
I had to read this for my honors english class sophmore year of high school. I did read it, and I failed every test. I read the sparknotes a week after I failed the last test, and I really like the story. \m/
In the process of reading this book, and Finny just returned. I was confused on the part where Gene pushed Finny off, i can't believe he actually did that on purpose.
Wow, there are some HUGE goofs in the credits page at the end: 1) These are the credits for the 1972 version, not this one 2) Knowles, not Knowls 3) No director is credited These are relatively minor by comparison but still worth mentioning: 4) I have never seen a sound engineer credited in a trailer 5) "Novel by" should be "Based on the novel by" 6) "Writer" should be "Screenplay by" 7) Executive producer(s) are typically credited in a trailer
Real dilema: Freaking love love LOVE the book, oh my God cannot even stress how much I love the book. I can't even. But this trailer looks fucking awful…is the movie bad??? I don't want to visualize a shitty movie when I read the book again and for the rest of my life
The book was initially written as if it were John Knowles. Lots of the book is fictional, but Knowles admitted to being gay, and that the characters in the book were in love, but that wasn't the point of the book. apparently.
This is the remake of the book done in 2004. The first movie was released in 1972. The 1972 version of A Seperate Peace is a far better version than this bit of fluff.
When I read the book, I never knew if Gene actually made Finny fall down from the tree. But after watching this trailer, it ruined the whole mystery for me! A Separate Peace was such a good book and this trailer sucks.
I think we can all agree there's at least some undertone to it. That's what is so great about books, theres no instructions. You can interpret them however you'd like.
we just got done reading this in Literature and English class in my school and were just about to watch it. hope its at least a little what i imagened it to be like
I had 1984 'shoved down my throat' in high school. It sounds like you just don't like learning about literature in school. Often the books that are 'shoved down your throat' have been important in society for some reason. Learning about them allows you to engage with society. You don't have to write a report praising the book. You could write a report saying why you believe it to be overrated. Nobody's stopping you.
No offense, but did you read it in high school? I feel like this is not a book for high school students to read. In high school, I also would have been way bored by it. I just read it now though as a 27-year-old and it spoke to me a lot. I think it's meant for people who are a bit older, looking back on their teen years.
@thefurtureoflove1593 Maybe I misunderstood it when i read the book. I knew Gene was jealous of Finny and he did thought of getting him to fall, but the fall itself was an accident because Gene accidentally jerked bounced the branch. That was how i understood it when i read the book, but Gene did cause Finny to fall accidentally or purposely
YES OMG. By chapter four I was like "There is no other possible plot line". But there is. And it's not nearly as exciting as unrequieted and forbidden boy love. -_-'
When someone forces me to read a novel because THEY think it has value to me I will naturally resent it. When society decides my literature, I shy away. It is easy to be corrupted if someone else controls your literary intake. This reminds me of a novel i CHOOSE to read called 1984. I decide what is best for my mind, im not rejecting suggestions, im rejecting dictatorship. Now, if you have not yet read 1984 I highly suggest you read it, or not your choice. Its a noble concept isnt it?
i just finished the book, it was actually pretty good for something i had to read in school. the movie doesn't look like it really captures the essence of the book though…
Lol, I watched this movie when I was around 10, and I just realized it was filmed at Phillips Exeter. I went there for the summer, and I actually did jump from one of the trees XD Had I made the connection to the movie, I would've been a lot more reluctant to jump. But it was fun, and I don't think anyone actually got hurt there. I think more than half the students must've gone at some point, even though it's not allowed :P
1 page describing a "substantial buttocks One wearing the others clothes and pretending to be him wrestling with no shirts, while wet and vividly describing how great it felt to have the other on his chest sleeping together on the beach I ask you, have you ever done this with your friends? I certainly have not.
There is a difference between praising a book and shoving it down peoples throats. For Example: 1984 is a compelling novel and I recommend it to all! Vs. Read this and right a report or fail the first quarter of my class.
I know what you mean, yeah, some of the Gene attitude towards Finn is really strange, but it doesn't mean they are gay. Probably we should ask to John Knowles about their relationship. Too bad he has passed away. . .
The thing I find so intriguing is that the two characters seem like they are based on two real people that John Knowles knew as a teenager, the gay writer Gore Vidal and Vidal's boyhood love, Jimmy Trimble. When I first read the book in middle school, I didn't know that Trimble and Vidal existed, but years later it is hard not to notice that the story seems like it was at least partially based on them and their relationship. The resemblance to their personalities is uncanny... athletic and outgoing Phineas is just like Jimmy, and the intellectual introverted Gene is just like Vidal. In real life, Jimmy also died tragically young, not because of Vidal though, he died in the war, and Vidal said it devasted him forever. So re-reading A Separate Peace, I can now see the homosexual subtext that I didn't pick up on when I was a kid.
I might also point out that 1984 would never have been republished for your literary consumption if it were not deemed a good book by society. If society didn't deem certain literature worthy of reprinting, it would never again see the light of day. And you never would have read 1984.
If I had been forced to read 1984 I probably would not appreciate as much as I do now. Im not going to force value into a novel. Most people act like sheep when you tell them something is good or bad, they try to find the good/bad in it. If your teacher told you that A Separate Piece was a terrible book then you would not be arguing its validity today.
For starters they seem taller than 5'9 in this movie and not 16 year olds. Also gene is suppossed to be 140 lbs and finny around 150 (lean athletic skater type of built physically both of them right). These guys seem much bigger than that. Finny is supposed to be good looking, these guys are kind f fugly. The fact they don't look 16 takes the nostalgia away.
