O Quarto de Vidro

The Glass Room (novel) is a fantastic story about a house. the people whose lives are connected to it, their relationships, and the transformations of the country it is in.

The Glass Room (Film) is a mess.

Everything that was great about the book is missing from the film. The characters are mere cardboard cut outs of those that grow and develop so wonderfully in the novel. No time is spent establishing any of them, nor their relationships.

The star of the novel, the house, is never shown in its glory in the film, only a few overly repeated angles that never let the house truly shine. And the many significant historical milestones are flipped from one to the other as if mere inconveniences.

Those who have not read the book must spend the first 30 minutes of the film in complete and utter confusion, barely having a clue who each person on screen is and what they mean to each other.

As such they will be frustrated. Likewise those who enjoyed the book, seeing its essence removed and only a watery reflection of it remaining. Those who watch based on the marketing, especially from the US where it goes by the thoroughly misleading title The Affair, who think they are watching a Lesbian love story will be frustrated for the most part.

A real shame that such an excellent story, cast and location are wasted on this terrible film.

When this movie reached its end I sat here going "Huh?" I haven't felt this way about a film in a long time, thank goodness. It was highly confusing. I just read in another review here that the title was changed from the title of the book the film is an adaptation of. I suppose the confusion starts there. As I watched "The Affair" I wondered which one the title referred to because there was more than one affair. Who was with whom was unclear to me and I really didn't know what the point of the movie was either. If I can see it again without paying (which I had to the first time) perhaps I will. Then I could redirect my attention.

I've not read the book it's based on, consequently I cannot assess the adaptation side of this story but regardless of that, I really loved the film. The cinematography is gorgeous and the music, minimalist, compliments the film beautifully. The two best friends have palpable chemistry and we root for them from their first scene together. Carice Van Houten is stunning and a real chameleon. She is so underrated.

I was not expecting much from this film but was actually very impressed with the cinematography and the story. It is well worth a watch and you would have to have a heart of stone not to feel moved by it.

I love period movies and this one doesn't disappoint. If you're distracted you'll lose track of the character's development.