Word: hemingways
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Drawing upon a collection of correspondence put together a few years ago, "In Love and War" follows the story of the romance between the young Ernest Hemingway (Chris O'Donnell) and a nurse, Agnes von Kurowsky (Sandra Bullock). With the usual bravado, Hemingway is fulfilling his duties as an ambulance driver in Italy during World War I, but is shot while trying to save a wounded soldier. Once he's laid up in a hospital, there's nothing left for him to do, really, but fall in love with his nurse...
Then a singularly odd thing happens: some guy appears on screen claiming to be Ernest Hemingway, and, before long -- look! -- there's a nurse, too, heaving and healing...
Needless to say, O'Donnell has difficulties mustering up quite enough sensitivity for Hemingway's character to portray him with any likeness at all. Gone is the rough-edged impetuousness that's best absorbed by reading his works...
Unfortunately, when both actors apply their abilities to Hemingway's story, the result is simple and uninteresting. What before was an intriguing story -- offering all manner of comparison-comments between Hemingway's life and what he portrayed in his writings -- now disappears in the melting goo of a basically standard wartime romance with two people no more glamorized than any other movie stars...
Adventure breathes throughout Hemingway's story: there's no doubt about this. The running to the front to save the soldier, the near loss of a leg -- this is all great stuff. But the fatal choice of two decidedly flat mainstream stars somehow reflects the movie's mindset that the story of Hemingway and a general idea of Hemingway's own character and conflicts with his nurse are enough, when what we really want to see is Hemingway, no-holds-barred, as close as they...