Tomorrow

Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate William Faulkner, but "Tomorrow" was not my favorite story.  Even if I had been wildly interested in the plot, the writing was nearly impossible to follow.  While getting lost in Faulkner's very detailed descriptions, I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters.  Faulkner noted, almost to a fault, every aspect of the most insignificant parts of the story.  Teaming that with the fact that Fentry was the only character discussed in length made for quite a confusing story.  On the positive side, I enjoyed the end of the story.  Although I spent much of the time trying to figure out what the story was actually about, it all came together for me at the end.  Realizing the true identity of the murdered man as the boy Fentry had cared for in childhood was my favorite part of the story.  Although I was not moved by the story, I can appreciate it as a work by a great author. Though I wasn't exactly thrilled with "Tomorrow" in short story form, I tried to keep an open mind for the movie. This endeavor was futile. Apart from Robert Duvall's comical accent in the portrayal of Fentry, the plot did not transfer well to film. Though many of the same elements were present in the movie, I think the amount of time spent displaying Fentry's dismal and uneventful life was unsuccessful. While the theme of endurance became apparent in these scenes, they did not add to the level of entertainment. The characters of Fentry and Sarah were a bit over the top. Although the film was in need of more entertaining aspects, overacting was not the way to go. It's rather hard to indulge in a movie when the actors aren't convincing. After reading the short story and seeing the movie, I have to say I was more captivated by the story. I usually follow the mantra that the book is always better than the movie, and in this case I was correct. With that being said, the story was less than I expected. Honestly, I feel bad that Robert Duvall considers his role as Fentry such a great accomplishment.