Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 (Rocky Mountain Pictures)
On the Screen At Last
Ayn Rands novel ATLAS SHRUGGED was published in 1957 and there has been talk about making this story into a movie ever since. Now we finally get a movie based on the story even if it only covers a third of the book. The film is Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 and it is playing across the country now. The cast is filed with basically unknown actors but the power of the story is still intact. For those die hard fans of the book this will be like manna from heaven.
The plot, which has been somewhat adopted by the Tea Party, is the battle between the rights of the individual and the rights of the whole. Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling) believes in the rights of the individual entrepreneur which brings her into conflict with her brother James (Matthew Marsden). It also helps her form an alliance with steel magnate Hank Reardon (Grant Bowler).
Taggart Enterprises supplies the trains and Rearden Steel provides the rails for an extensive stretch of the country. This antagonizes the union leaders as well as the politicians who want the wealth to be shared by all. Meanwhile the independent business people of the country are disappearing. They appear to have been contacted by a shadowy figure named John Gault. The motto of this new group is the question Who is John Gault
Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 ends with many of the issues it raises still up in the air. How this will affect the potential audience for this film is unknown but it is a given that many will not want to see only a part of the overall story. If Part 1 is a success then the making of Parts 2 and 3 will ensue.
The cast is not outstanding in any way. Schilling has the best role in the movie and she is adequately adept at bringing it to life. In a way her lack of name recognition is good as she becomes Dagny Taggart and not a star playing her. The same is true for Bowler in his role of Hank Reardon. Since these actors are not household names they are able to blend completely into the parts and the characters become more believable.
Standouts among the supporting cast are Rebecca Wisocky as Reardons social climbing wife Lillian; Michael Lerner as politician Wesley Mouch; and Jon Polito as power player Orren Boyle.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity, mild sexual situations and violence.
Fans of the book will eat up this movie while those not familiar with it will find the movie a hard sell. The lack of star power and the low publicity campaign for the movie may doom it to only potential DVD success. For those who do watch it and fall into the flow of the story the movie is a good one which will whet your appetite for more.
I scored Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 a bookish 6 out of 10.
