Am I literally the only person

[very_improbable]

who thinks that Peter Morgan is not actually a good screenwriter? I can't fault him on matters of structure, but I don't think he, you know, writes good lines. When he has to convey a piece of exposition or a character's opinion on something (which accounts for most of The Queen) he loses whatever sense of character voice he had and everybody sounds like a newspaper editorial, and most of the time when he goes for a moment of emotional truth it's on the clunky side.

I mean, I saw Frost/Nixon tonight and I thought the film was extremely well-done and gripping, and the dialogue that was identical to or closely modeled on the historical record was dramatically compelling, and it basically did not have good dialogue other than that. But, like Nixon, I appear to have an opinion that is shared by no one.

Comments

[pocky_slash.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen the film, but I saw the original cast on Broadway and it was one of the greatest theatrical experiences of my life. I feel like it's one of those things that I'll brag to my kids about. "Yeah, you think this revival's good? I saw Frank Langella and Michael Sheen in the original production!"