So, I finally caved and bought the DVD version of Empire Falls based off Richard Ruso’s novel. And the first thing I have to say is that it was good. Not as good as the novel, but still good. I actually didn’t know that Russo himself had written the screenplay. If I had known that earlier, I would’ve watched it a while back.

Fred Schepisi does a wonderful job putting the pieces together in the small New England town of Empire Falls. Almost every actor was dead-on portraying the characters from the book. Although, Francince Whiting didn’t seem quite as evil in the film adaptation. I was especially in awe of Paul Newman’s performance of Max Roby. He was by far the funniest (and the saddest when he needed to be) character in the film.

There seems to be something missing from the adaptation though. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s there. I guess that’s what you get from any film in which you’ve already read the book. It’s lacking some of the little details that one can only explain in words.

Nevertheless, the film was wonderful. A young movie and book buff like myself can only hope for more film adaptations like this one in the future. By far, one of the best adaptations you can get your hands on.