Given the running time of the film, the narrative can do justice to neither figure, but Gellhorn is especially ill-served. Considering her status as one of the major war correspondents of the twentieth century, her professional life and achievements are largely glossed over in the film, which is unfortunate. Indeed, scenes in which we see her writing are few and far between.
Also, the way in which John Dos Passos is treated as some minor literary figure in relation to Hemingway is irksome. Sure, Hemingway saw him as a rival, and may have tried to personally belittle him, but Dos Passos is one of the great modernist writers of the 20th century, and this should have been acknowledged beyond Gellhorn's dismissing narration that after the Spanish Civil War "he turned to the right." Perhaps, but he also wrote the U.S.A. trilogy, which is a truly marvellous and iconic novel.
So, while not without merit, this is a very unbalanced and, sadly, flawed film, albeit one that unexpectedly features Lars Ulrich of Metallica!
Also, the way in which John Dos Passos is treated as some minor literary figure in relation to Hemingway is irksome. Sure, Hemingway saw him as a rival, and may have tried to personally belittle him, but Dos Passos is one of the great modernist writers of the 20th century, and this should have been acknowledged beyond Gellhorn's dismissing narration that after the Spanish Civil War "he turned to the right." Perhaps, but he also wrote the U.S.A. trilogy, which is a truly marvellous and iconic novel.
So, while not without merit, this is a very unbalanced and, sadly, flawed film, albeit one that unexpectedly features Lars Ulrich of Metallica!