It is next to impossible to turn a 800 page novel into a consumable movie without losing some of what made the novel brilliant in the first place (which this one is). The novel is about growing up in South Carolina and about the love of three siblings for each other. The novel takes its name from what the sister calls one of the brothers: The Prince Of Tides. But, Luke Wingo, the title character is seldom seen in this mediocre adaptation. Ms. Streisand decided to make it a love story about her character and Lukes brother Tom. She missed the entire point, and screwed up a good story that would have better been left as a mini-series because of its length and depth. (She needs to watch LONESOME DOVE or ROOTS or CENNTENIAL to see that you can make masterpeices on tv, especially if you have a huge text to work from).
However, Nolte is perfectly cast, and plays the part of a downtrodden southern everyman very well. The few childhood flashback scenes that they do film are done very well. Too bad Babs didn't realize this was the meat of the novel. Oh well, at least she didn't sing.
However, Nolte is perfectly cast, and plays the part of a downtrodden southern everyman very well. The few childhood flashback scenes that they do film are done very well. Too bad Babs didn't realize this was the meat of the novel. Oh well, at least she didn't sing.