The Goldfinch (2019)
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The story
After his mother is killed in a terrorist bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, thirteen-year-old Theodore Decker is urged by a dying man to take a painting known as The Goldfinch and an engraved ring. Placed into foster care with the Barbours, Theo becomes close to Mrs. Barbour, who encourages his interest in art. However, his life becomes complicated when his estranged father, Larry, arrives to take him to Las Vegas. Amidst the turmoil of his family's collapse and his own internal struggles, Theo must navigate the burden of the stolen masterpiece while trying to find his place in a world changed by tragedy.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Following a terrorist bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, thirteen-year-old Theodore Decker's mother is killed. A dying man urges him to take the painting 'The Goldfinch' and an engraved ring. Theo is placed in foster care with the Barbours, where he bonds with Mrs. Barbour. His estranged father, Larry, later takes him to Las Vegas, where he meets Boris, a classmate who introduces him to drugs. After Larry dies in a car crash, Theo flees to New York and lives with a man named Hobie. Eight years later, Theo runs a successful antique shop while hiding the painting in a storage locker. He becomes engaged to Kitsey but remains in love with his childhood friend Pippa. After a series of events involving the painting's theft and a confrontation with a dealer named Reeve, Theo is reunited with Boris. In Amsterdam, Boris attempts to reclaim the painting at gunpoint, leading to a violent confrontation where Boris is wounded and Theo is forced to kill an assailant. Ultimately, Boris reveals he turned the painting over to the police as part of a larger bust, and the painting is recovered by authorities.
- First release year
- 2019
- Runtime (minutes)
- 149
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Crowley
- Writers
- Peter Straughan · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Ansel Elgort · Theodore Decker; Oakes Fegley; Aneurin Barnard; Finn Wolfhard; Sarah Paulson · Xandra; Luke Wilson; Jeffrey Wright; Nicole Kidman
- Genres
- drama; coming-of-age
- Themes
- grief; trauma; art; identity
- Tone and mood
- dramatic; somber
- Premise and plot tags
- coming-of-age; based on a novel; art theft
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews for its plot and narrative, though it was praised for its cinematography and performances. It was a box-office failure.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 24% · scale: percentage · review count: 227; Metacritic · score: 40 · scale: 100 · review count: 41
- Production trivia
- Donna Tartt reportedly hated the adaptation so much she fired her longtime agent.; The film was a box-office bomb, grossing $10 million against a budget of $44–49 million.; The film was shot in New York City and Albuquerque.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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