Ian McEwan The Comfort of Strangers Review

Overall Rating

Atnonement blew me away, & got me into Ian McEwan big time. I have to say that the Comfort of Strangers is disappointing, though. There is simply too much canvas painting with too little psychology. The couple are banal & dislikeable, Robert is Gothic monster, & one feels no empathy with his abused wife, despite his violence (which she's grown to love).
There IS considerable craftsmanship at work in this portrayal- but it's largely in the service of providing a spurious scenic, faux-atmospheric backdrop to something too contrived to be believed.