Actor Kyle MacLachlan has a message for the filmmakers behind the upcoming adaptation
of the classic Frank Herbert sci-fi novel Dune: Good luck.
MacLachlan starred in the 1984 version of Dune, which was directed by his friend and
frequent collaborator, David Lynch. That film was famously impenetrable to mainstream audiences,
and while the actor doesn't exactly consider it to be a catastrophe, he acknowledged in
a recent interview with IndieWire some of the inherent difficulties in bringing the
property to the screen.
"My feelings about [Lynch's film] evolve over time. I look at it as a flawed gem. It's stunning
in so many ways. [...] It's incredibly dense, and a little bit like a house of cards. If
you leave out one element of the story or another, the structure tends to wobble, and
you don't get the full effect."
MacLachlan went on to explain that it's not that he thinks the property is unadaptable
— just that director Denis Villeneuve might need more than his planned two feature films
in order to properly tell the story. He continued,
"I would lobby for three or more films, because it has that kind of potential to really open
up. In my imagination, I always thought it would be great to approach it like a Game
of Thrones model, where you have seasons, or at least a 10-part series, or a 12-part
series."
Both before and after Lynch's film, many talented directors including the likes of Ridley Scott
and Peter Berg tried and failed to adapt Dune to the big screen. Now…
"It is happening again."
and MacLachlan thinks he knows why it's proven to be so difficult.
"Only the very strong ones travel this deep."
"Usul has called the big one again! It is the legend."
First, the quality of the prose itself in Herbert's novel invites readers to view its
world rather subjectively; it's an extremely literary work that doesn't easily lend itself
to visual interpretation. As MacLachlan puts it,
"There's a mysticism about it that is difficult to capture on film."
Second, and more importantly, the novel sports an enormous cast of characters, none of whom
are unimportant or easily excised, and all of whom form a complex web of relationships
that is absolutely key to the narrative.
"They're full people, and you want to spend time with each one of them. And that eats
up your film time. It's a real puzzle. It's just so many elements that you have to bring
together."
The actor's experience of reading the novel in preparation for his starring role in Lynch's
film helps to illustrate the difficulty Villeneuve faces in crafting a film that won't completely
lose viewers in that complexity. MacLachlan said,
"When I first started reading the book back in the day, I would get to about page 50 or
60 and then have to return back to the very beginning just to put all the players in place.
There are so many relationships that are important to understand and know. To hold the stories
of each of those so the audience can remember, it's just almost impossible."
To make it slightly more possible, Villeneuve's Dune movies will get a small-screen assist
in the form of Dune: The Sisterhood, an HBO Max original series that will be overseen
by Villeneueve. While this should help to manage some of those intricacies of Dune's
plotting and characterization, it's pretty safe to say that not everybody who sees the
movies will be taking in the series. Villeneuve himself, in a sit down with Vanity Fair, acknowledged
the enormity of the challenge of bringing the story to the big screen in no uncertain
terms.
"I would not agree to make this adaptation of the book with one single movie. The world
is too complex. It's a world that takes its power in details."
Just how does one go about wrangling all of those characters, relationships, and themes
into a readily accessible big-screen package? The director could really only state the obvious:
It's not easy.
"It's a book that tackles politics, religion, ecology, spirituality and with a lot of characters.
I think that's why it's so difficult. Honestly, it's by far the most difficult thing I've
done in my life."
Somehow, that doesn't come as a surprise. He'll be fine as long as he remembers one
thing:
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer."
Hopefully, we'll get to see the fruits of Villeneuve's labor soon: Dune is currently
scheduled to hit the big screen on December 18, 2020.
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