Melissa McShane's Reviews > Remake: A Novel

When I heard about James Dean being "reborn" using CGI in a new film, I immediately thought of this book. It's not a popular Connie Willis book, and I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could, because for all the subject matter is not lighthearted--it's set in a future where all films are just remakes of earlier films starring famous dead actors--it feels very light. It's short, too--it took me a little over an hour to read it. But Willis comes off as eerily prescient nowadays, when Peter Cushing can reprise a role after his death and, as noted, James Dean can play what the directors of the film are calling a secondary lead.

I like the use of classic films throughout, as the main character, Tom, struggles between his innate selfishness and his attraction to the idealistic young dancer Alis, who only wants to dance in the movies despite the musical having died a painful death in the 1960s. It's unfortunate that it's such a slight story, because there's some interesting commentary here on the nature of Hollywood and acting and even love. It's an enjoyable story, for all it suffers by comparison to some of Willis's other, powerful books. And maybe that's an unfair comparison, but there you go.

My rating earns that other half-star because the one truly magnificent thing to come out of this book is Willis's happy ending (or rather epilogue) to Casablanca, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. Her solution keeps the heartrending but perfect ending to the movie while delivering a coda that is even more powerful.