Finally got to viewing the Nicolas Roeg-directed adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness novella. It is reasonably faithful to Conrad’s original text, atmosphere, and themes, though not as hard-hitting as Coppola’s Viet Nam take in Apocalypse, Now.
Tim Roth plays a somewhat minimalist-acting, ordinary-looking Marlow who seeks out a somewhat subdued Kurtz played by normally more powerful John Malkovich. Roeg is, of course, the director of the weird, haunting Don’t Look Now, and there are numerous instances of suspense and violence that recall that more successful movie.
But Roeg does capture the abusive colonial exploitation and underlying evil of mankind in this 105 min. version of Conrad’s most famous book. Recommended for anyone who is wondering whether to read the book or not. In that sense, a good introductory film.