Discussion Point 4, Lucas versus Dean

[jeppody]

Originally Posted by Karen 15th July 2004

OK, let's do some comparing. How do you think Lucas Corso of the book
compares to Dean Corso of the movie? Do you have a preference? What
makes you prefer one over the other? While I think they were very
similar, they were also, at the same time very different. I have a
fav, what about you? Remember there are no "right"
answers..........only opinions and feelings. What say y'all?

[jeppody]

Ellen


OK, I'll take a stab at this before I head out. I'd have to say I
liked Lucas better because he had so much more detail written about
him. I felt sorry for him when I read about Nikon (I think that was
her name.) That seemed to make Lucas a little more vulnerable. I
think the author did an outstanding job of giving visual
descriptions to all the characters. If I hadn't seen the movie or
known Johnny was in it, I think the description of Lucas would have
still been very solid in my mind. He just seemed more human than
Dean. AND, even though, all in all, I didn't like the book, I did
like the details the author gave to each person and place. It was
like being there. (Maybe that's what scared me.)

[jeppody]

JP


I truly liked Lucas. While he was devious and a bit underhanded, he
had a background that we could draw some understanding of his
personality from. He was not always ethical in his business
dealings, but he appeared to treat those situations as only business,
nothing personal. His personal relationships were deeply felt, and
he was honestly hurt when his friend appeared to have taken advantage
of him later in the book. I felt sympathetic toward him because of
his failed relationship with Nikon, which gave an insight into his
ability to feel and love. He truly loved her and was mourning her
loss. Dean was not provided with that type of background, so he
appears to be more a little more "flat" than Lucas. Johnny did much
to make Dean more layered, but there was not that much written to
help him, and I get the feeling that he was held a bit in check when
he tried to put more into the character.

[jeppody]

Karen


This is pretty much the way I feel, I like Lucas a bit more because
Perez-Reverte gave us so much motivational information. We just flat
out KNEW more about why he was feeling the way he was and that his
relationship with Nikon literally haunted him in every aspect of his
life. I wish the screenwriter and Polanski had given Dean more meat.
Basically, Johnny did a lot with the character, certainly more than
he was given to work with. I can't help but imagine what he could
have done had Dean been more "fleshed out."

[jeppody]

Lynn


You know, I never separated the two. I thought of them both as
"Corso"...didn't even notice the first name in the book after awhile..
one in the same, and of course, since I'd seen the movie a zillion times
before I even touched the book, imagined Johnny all the way through.
I didn't even think much about the location difference.

The book of course gave us added insight to the character.
Unfortunately those who have only seen the movie are missing parts
of the character history.

[jeppody]

JaneStoll


Ditto on JP's interpretation of Lucas Corso. Dean Corso came across to me as becoming more obsessed with the promise of power and driven to solve the mystery so that he could have it than of "just" solving the mystery. A combination of the two would have satisfied me. I enjoyed both stories. However,the movie needed more development. The practice of Satanism has always frightened me--neither the book or the movie roused that emotion in me.