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Apr 29, 2016 By Jason Wilson Web Exclusive

Ernest Hemingway was a polarizing figure. By now, his reputation as a heavy drinker, fishing aficionado, big game hunter, and man of violent outbursts has almost overshadowed his skill as a writer. Papa: Hemingway in Cuba does an excellent job of showing the various facets of Hemingway’s personality. He’s portrayed – excellently by Adrian Sparks – as a kind and thoughtful mentor in one moment and then a paranoid lunatic with the weight of the world on his shoulders the next. At first, Sparks is larger than life, introduced shrouded by shadows of sunlight as Eddie (Giovanni Ribisi) looks up at him from the deck of Hemingway’s boat. These first interactions run the risk of being almost too idolizing, but it makes sense in the context of the film. Eddie, a Miami journalist, gets invited to Cuba to meet Hemingway after writing a fan letter to him. Of course Eddie sees him like this.

The jovial façade of Hemingway’s life slowly disintegrates, aided by the backdrop of the Castro revolution. The best scene in the movie shows Hemingway wake Eddie up from a nap asking if he wants a good story. They run into an attack on a government building. Bullets fly. People scream. They see people die. Then they drink. This shift in tone – and the difference between drinking for fun and drinking out of sorrow – helps flesh out the duality of the Hemingway persona. Hemingway was an incorrigible bastard challenging those who care about him to keep on doing so. He was so good with words on the page that it could often translate to a single spoken line cutting to the heart of someone’s self.

Oh, right, Eddie is the main character. This is where the movie fails and fails big. Eddie, based on real-life journalist and Hemingway friend Denne Petitclerc, is a dull lead. His love story is tacked on and underdeveloped and while he provides an easy way to enter Hemingway’s circle, parts voyeuristic and wish-fulfillment, it always fizzles when Hemingway is off screen.

There are elements of truth and sublimity, but it wanders too much into clichés and easy plot devices, mostly dealing with Eddie’s personal life in Miami. His entire narration should have been cut. It’s obvious and unnecessary. At the very least, Papa could re-inject some interest in Hemingway’s catalogue if it gets any kind of wide release.

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Author rating: 5/10