My, My Memoirs: First of all, I just want to say, I'm glad Memoirs Of A Geisha was directed by a gay man. Rob Marshall, the director of Chicago, is gay and has done a remarkable job of bringing the acclaimed novel to the big screen. Secondly, I was disappointed by the film, but not for the reason you may think. I read the book back in October and finished rereading it at the beginning of this week so it would be fresh in my mind. Every tweak and change that deviated from the book I noticed immediately. The film's biggest flaw is that it didn't capture the excitement, intensity and desperation of geisha life that the book so vividly evoked. Most of the movie is faithful to the book, however, one of the characters was softened, and scene in which the villainess goes over the deep end was changed from the book. It's written one way in the book and she does something entirely different in the movie to get thrown out of the geisha house. The three actresses, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, and Gong Li are all wonderful despite the fact that they are all Chinese. It's no different than a British actor playing an American or an American playing a German or British character. The end scene in which Sayuri, as played by Ziyi Zhang, finally gets her heart's desire, didn't give me chills the way it did in the book both times I read it. That's not the fault of the director, it's the fact that the book is so incredibly written that it is incomparable. I think that for anyone who liked the book they will enjoy the movie but expect to be disappointed. I knew I would feel some sort of letdown but it's not so great that I would say the movie was awful; it wasn't, it was beautiful and well directed and, I think, a lock for an Academy Award nom for Best Director.

paul