The Book That Wrote Itself

A would-be writer submits his historical novel to a couple of publishers. When they slam his writing talents (or lack thereof) and claim the book isn't believable, he sets out to prove them wrong by acting out the book in real, modern-day life, and hiring a photographer to film it. Some good ideas, but this ultra low-budget effort reeks of amateurism: the acting is weak, the script poor, the camerawork undistinguished. It deserves some credit for effort and ambition, but its shortcomings cannot be overlooked. The last 10 or 15 minutes are the most interesting, when the director works in interviews with real-life film stars at the Venice film festival, including George Clooney, Kenneth Branagh and Melanie Griffith -- but these scenes bear almost no relation to the rest of the movie!! At the end of the day, this is a film which friends and relatives of those involved can enjoy and admire, like a home movie -- for general audiences, there's little to connect with.