krisrivats

"The Lottery" (1969) is a short film adaptation of Shirley Jackson's short story of the same name. The film does a very good job portraying the short story, depicting a town's controversial lottery. The acting was fine for the 1960's, but the cinematography was sub-par. The camerawork seemed hastily done on a Saturday night, since the camera shakes a lot, detracting from the actual story. The movie also seems to also drag on for far too long. The story could have been the same, but in 10-15 minutes rather than the 18 minutes the film is depicted in. This could be seen as a positive though, since the films awkward length adds to the feeling of tension that the characters are feeling. The acting was not one of the highlights of the film, however, since Tessie Hutchinson, the one who is chosen in the lottery in both stories, is not very well acted, and is not who I expected to see representing her after reading the story. Old Man Warner, the grumpy old man of the actual story, however, was acted perfectly, in my opinion. The film has a certain charm to it, which I really enjoy. The feeling that you are there is very strong, but I would say that the "feeling" of being there is a bit too strong. Overall, while the movie is objectively a bad film, I would say it is not a bad adaptation of Shirley Jackson's short story. It does have it's flaws, but overall, one could surely do worse.