Admirable film.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I don't think it's always necessary for someone to read a novel before they see the film version, however, with James Franco's As I Lay Dying, an adaptation of William Faulkner's classic novel, I believe it's very necessary for someone to read it. After that, have a look at Franco's film.The reason I say this is because a lot of people don't really understand, or see the point to, why Franco chose to use a lot of split-screen sequences. First of all, if you'd read As I Lay Dying, you might possibly understand it as how Franco chose to present all the point-of- views within the book. The whole novel is divided into chapters, each one labelled by the name of which character we are hearing the story from- this is why I think Franco wanted to use split-screen a lot. Sometimes in the novel, you almost have to flip back and say to yourself, "Okay this is Darl's chapter, this is Addie's chapter (who in the novel sort of speaks 'beyond death' as well)" and so on. It's not easy to read William Faulkner in general; I'm a fan, and I still struggle to make it through a novel of his I'm reading. He was one of the first great American writers who was interested in stream-of-consciousness writing. I think, personally, Franco did a great job at trying to recreate that stream-of-consciousness feel.Second, I love the acting here. Some of you may disagree, but I believe each of the main actors in particular brought some great work to the film here. Tim Blake Nelson as Anse is incredible. In the novel, it's known that Anse is not particularly easy to decipher, nor does he always necessarily make any sense either, and he is not a good man, regardless of him agreeing to bring his wife's body back to Jefferson. Nelson brings the downhome Southern quality to Anse, and I loved every second of the portrayal. Franco was also a good here. In the book, it's not always clear if Darl is mentally unstable, or what his deal is, until you read further and further; I think Franco did a nice job at subtly portraying Darl and his personal journey. Logan Marshall-Green did a perfect job with Jewel. There is a raw intensity about Jewel, here and in the novel, so I think his character was one of the best that came through on film. Marshall-Green is fast becoming a favourite of mine. There are more nice performances here, smaller ones, and they hit some great notes. I really enjoyed how most of the characters translated into film. It may not be the perfect adaptation, but it was great in terms of acting.I certainly give this an 8 out of 10. I don't feel it's perfect, but I do find it close. Franco understands Faulkner, in the way I understand and enjoy him. I'm not saying I'm right about how I view Faulkner's work, or that Franco is right, or that I'm even correct about feeling the same way as he does about the famous author- I just know what I feel. There are great moments here, classic moments, in my mind. The split-screen personally works for me; I felt it really brought to the surface an idea that we were seeing the story through the eyes of the entire Bundren family. That's how the novel worked, and that's why it was so compelling. Faulkner was a master of the craft. I continue to read his work, and hope one day I'll have read it all. His novels, short stories (et cetera), are not for everyone, but they are engaging, and have, for decades, stirred up many debates and critical opinions from one end of the spectrum to the next. I think Franco gets what Faulkner was doing in As I Lay Dying. I hope he'll be able to capture the same understanding with his adaptation of The Sound and the Fury.Highly recommended. Even if you don't enjoy it, don't be one of those people who turns it off after 20 minutes to half an hour. You can't judge any movie that way. Sorry- you just can't. Just like a novel. Sit through until the end, and I suggest reading the novel if you enjoy the story, or want to understand Franco's intentions here.

I really did not enjoy one minute of this film. I am sorry, I know it is supposed to be this masterpiece, but piece of eh? The cutaways, and the way peoples mouths aren't always moving when they are clearly talking, in fact having actual conversations, but you suddenly change perspective, and the person talking's lips are not moving, and the other person's might be, or they may just both be sitting in chairs, or walking around poking things with sticks. I did Not think Franco's choices of the cast were all that original, it was all boilerplate, and he used the same actors you would have seen play the same types of rolls only with better material, and probably less exaggerated direction. I would not recommend this movie to anyone really. If you have to read the book for school, just read the book, or get the Cole's (or whatever they call them in your country) notes, but this movie will not help you better understand the story, this movie may just crack your logic chip.

James Franco has seemingly set out to be the busiest man in Hollywood. Franco unfulfilled by just acting in recent times has taken on art, writing and adapting so called un-filmable novels with the forthcoming McCarthy adaptation Child of God premiering recently and this faithful and very intriguing adaptation of William Faulkner's revered 1930 book As I Lay Dying which had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.It's clear that Franco filmed this atmospheric tale on a limited budget yet was able to recruit some serious acting talent to join him on screen as the Bundren family. Stand outs in the acting stakes are Tim Blake Nelson as toothless family head Anse and Marshall-Green as half cast and grizzled Jewel. All cast members acquit themselves well to difficult material, even Franco's real life buddy and funny man Danny McBride does well in a small cameo like roll. Franco's fine direction of fellow actors is commendable but his artistic decision not so much.A strange choice by Franco is to put screen juxtaposition in a two frame format for roughly half of the films running time. This two pane structure comes off as merely annoying and takes away from the full screen beauty of much of the films images and natural landscape which are wonderfully captured by cinematographer Christina Voros. This technique was employed from an outsiders knowledge to portray the novels various voices and themes yet really is in no way integral to the films telling and as a finished product seems a tad on the pretentious side of things.If you can overcome As I Lay Dying's almost tortuous opening 30 minutes where I found myself more than tempted to stop the film in its tracks there is much to admire in the film and by the last 20 minutes you will find yourself enthralled in this strange and depressing tale of a family lost in more ways than one. As I Lay Dying gives one hope that Franco will do justice to Child of God and perhaps one day his dream project of Blood Meridian.3 concrete casts out of 5 For more movie reviews and opinions check out - www.jordanandeddie.wordpress.com

This film tells the story of a family who travels to get their mother buried.Honestly, I don't even know how to begin to tell the world how terrible this film is. I watched it for almost an hour before I begin to know the film is about their journey to bury their mother. The story telling is appalling, and made worse by the pretentious use of split screen that sites incongruous messages. For example, in a scene where a man's taking, the left side of the screen sites his face motionless while the right side of the screen sites him talking.It's as if there is an alternate universe within the film. The plot is ultra boring as well. just do but watch this mess.