I'll start by giving credit where it is due here: There are some really good shots, and the soundtrack also fits them pretty well. In this sense, I can see the artistic value of the film.
That being said, I felt like a lot of context was missing when it came to the story/characters. There were a lot of things that just left me asking "Wait, wtf is happening?" as a watcher who hasn't read the original novel. And maybe with that context, it would have been better, but having watched this expecting an experience with no prior research required, it fell very short. I couldn't figure out the lore of this world when it comes to ghosts, etc. If there even was any. I did appreciate those moments of stereotypical but effective hints in small details, but there seemed to be so much extra added here with absolutely no context to add any emotional depth to the story itself. It was a sort of "I want to like this but the only merits are in the aesthetics of shots and the use of music, I am not actually feeling any emotion for anyone throughout the duration of this story (apart from annoyance and confusion)."
At least it wasn't painfully long; I just kept hoping for something more than what was given. It might just be my personality, but no character was relatable. (And I'm not talking about the stereotypical Hollywood sense; I legitimately just found these portrayals unrealistic and forced, with no explanation and minimal to no context as to what the dynamics were to establish a lot of the "conflicts" that arise in the film.)
The book is probably better, because I can see where there was potential here, but the script, in my opinion, was mostly a waste of my time. At least I did get the nice music and pretty visuals, but still.
That being said, I felt like a lot of context was missing when it came to the story/characters. There were a lot of things that just left me asking "Wait, wtf is happening?" as a watcher who hasn't read the original novel. And maybe with that context, it would have been better, but having watched this expecting an experience with no prior research required, it fell very short. I couldn't figure out the lore of this world when it comes to ghosts, etc. If there even was any. I did appreciate those moments of stereotypical but effective hints in small details, but there seemed to be so much extra added here with absolutely no context to add any emotional depth to the story itself. It was a sort of "I want to like this but the only merits are in the aesthetics of shots and the use of music, I am not actually feeling any emotion for anyone throughout the duration of this story (apart from annoyance and confusion)."
At least it wasn't painfully long; I just kept hoping for something more than what was given. It might just be my personality, but no character was relatable. (And I'm not talking about the stereotypical Hollywood sense; I legitimately just found these portrayals unrealistic and forced, with no explanation and minimal to no context as to what the dynamics were to establish a lot of the "conflicts" that arise in the film.)
The book is probably better, because I can see where there was potential here, but the script, in my opinion, was mostly a waste of my time. At least I did get the nice music and pretty visuals, but still.