Atlas Shrugged Part 1

I was asked last week if I had heard about the movie based on Ayn Rand's 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged. I had not. Which of course, made me very curious. I may not care to see a movie, but I most certainly have heard of it, know who is in it and the basic premise. I immediately looked up info about the book and film. No big stars or major studios are involved with the movie. I have not read the book, but I am a big fan of the genre (see my post about The Adjustment Bureau and my random association about futuristic-dystopian fiction. I still can not help but think that I should have worked more on that one before posting).

The movie begins on September 6th, 2016. The not so distant future, is a not all that unfamiliar one. References are made to the 2009 stock market crash. However, the Dow is now below 4000 and gas is $37.50 per gallon. What successful business men remain, are disappearing and everyone is asking, Who is John Galt?

There were moments that were a bit too melodramatic. I'll give it a pass because, even though I have not read the novel, I did take away a sense that the filmmakers made every effort to be true to the source material. The movie also feels like a play at times, taken by me as another sign that the flick is true to the book. More than anything, I just want to know what happens and how it ends. The movie is Part 1 of three. I do hope that the two remaining parts will be filmed, completed and released.

The movie was completed for about $15 million, relatively low for a movie. Today the director John Aglialoro announced that despite grossing $3.1 million so far, the critical bashing it has received, has given him second thoughts about continuing on with Parts 2 and 3. Of course, there is always the book.