Lauded as a pivotal piece of pro-capitalist and pro-individualist literature, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged has long stood as staple of high school reading curriculum. To be fair, the story of individualism vs. collectivism presented within the frame of private sector economics has merit, and it can lead to some great moments of introspection when the reader has to decide whether they agree with Rand’s proposal that the gifted shouldn’t be forced to prop up the weak, that those with innovative spirits deserve something better. It makes you think. (How hard is another issue altogether.)
The film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged does not make you think, because instead of serving up a story with multiple threads of pro-individualist metaphors, it just pounds a sermon down the audience’s throat with a number of horrid performances and a rushed interpretation that would have been better explored by another hour of better written, better directed, and better acted narrative. The story of corporations and the brilliant people attempting to keep them afloat in a time of economic decline has been neutered to accommodate a run-time and a poorly chosen cast that could never have done justice to this tome of conservatism.
An already struggling rail company finds themselves in a rut when news of an accident sees their business plummet and their customers lose faith in their services. The problem is only compounded by the internal struggles of the brother and sister duo that run it, with the former being a spineless twit intent on letting government intervention salvage the company and the latter seeking a new approach to their business model by deploying new ideas that could radically change the world. Though the innovation might ultimately have benefitted the world, there exists a collection of people who seek to undermine its success by passing bills to force the creator of the breakthrough to choose between turning over his secret or losing the majority of his business fortune.
The anti-big government message couldn’t be clearer, and that’s part of the film’s problem: it’s not a metaphor, it’s just bald-faced preaching. Granted, some might say that’s also true of the book, but at least the novel made a pretense at telling a story. By contrast, the film just plows into the ideologies while keeping some of the signature concepts in place, and asking “Who is John Galt?” in an attempt to keep it somewhat rooted in narrative. It doesn’t really work though, and only the most forgiving viewers will walk away from this supposed first part with anything but disappointment.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
While most trainwrecks are bound to attract some gawkers, train lines never intentionally derail a train just to show you how the insides work. Director Paul Johansson probably didn’t intend to make an abominable adaptation, but he did, and now he’s laid all the parts of it bare for the world to see. Beyond the audio commentary that doesn’t even have Johansson giving his take, only the screenwriters who butchered the film and one of its producers, we’re given a look at the excruciating process required to give Ayn Rand’s work its latest adaptation. Let’s make one thing clear: the road to production for a film, especially those independently produced, is rarely without its fair share of bumps and detours; but when a single person puts up a majority of the film’s budget, that should simplify things tremendously. In the case of Atlas Shrugged it did and it didn’t.
Finally, a featurette devoted to the novel’s central enigmatic figure, John Galt, offers a little bit of background to the famous literary question and its metaphorical meaning for the world. The last little tidbit is a series of pictures intended to highlight the moments from the film that then play on the John Galt theme, but instead of being helpful, it just feels like overkill. The film wasn’t exactly smooth about its presentation of that plot point. In fact that was one of the worst aspects, where actors would all but wink at the camera every time they asked the question, and so a slideshow really isn’t necessary.
"Atlas Shrugged: Part One" is on sale November 8, 2011 and is rated PG13. Drama. Directed by Paul Johansson. Written by Ayn Rand (novel), John Aglialoro (screenplay), Brian Patrick O'Toole (screenplay). Starring Matthew Marsden, Patrick Fischler, Taylor Schilling, Grant Bowler.
