Enduring Love, by Ian McEwan was a disturbing and painful book to read back in 1998. I hadn’t caught the movie version until very recently on DVD. Both book and movie start with an aviation angle. A botched hot air balloon landing leads to the death of a passerby who tries to help. The main character in the book is a science journalist who is plagued by the attentions of an intense guy whom he meets during the balloon crash. The filmmakers apparently didn’t think audiences would be sympathetic to a scribbler about nerds. So the main character has become a college professor spouting off about love to a rapt audience of undergrads. It could be literature or philosophy course. We’re not really sure. But most definitely the character has been stripped of his association with science and math.
I recommend the DVD if you missed the movie in the theaters. It is almost as disturbing and more painful and intense than the book. There are good tips in there if you want to stalk a stranger and drive them crazy. Start by being gay and talking about God’s love. When you do run into the stalkee say “I think you know what I’m talking about.”
I think I don’t know what you are talking about… do you want me to point out the obvious – that if this happened to anyone other than a pantywaist, the stalker would be walking around with brick-shaped marks on his forehead?
Having seen the trailer for this, why would I want to watch this “disturbing, painful and intense” movie?
Great shot of the guy falling from the balloon.