Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Fahrenheit 451’ On HBO, Based On The Classic Ray Bradbury Novel

At one point or another, we’ve all read Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s classic novel about a future America where book burning is commonplace (the title is the temperature at which book paper burns). It’s been 52 years since the first time the novel was made into a film, and HBO is airing a modernized version, moved into a 21st century frame of reference and starring Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon. Does it do justice to Bradbury’s classic?

FAHRENHEIT 451: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: We’re in Cleveland in the near future. Guy Montag (Michael B. Jordan) wakes up and gets the latest from the social network called “The Nine.” He’s a master fireman, but he doesn’t put out fires, he starts them. You see, in this near-future world, all books, recordings, and art are banned, and when Montag and his Salamander squad get a report of physical books, they use flamethrowers to set the books (and most of the time, the houses they’re in) aflame.

America is a country where books and the “savage” old-school internet have made people unhappy because all it does is give them things to worry and argue about, which led to the Second Civil War. After that war, the government ordered all “graffiti” to be confiscated and destroyed. Anyone caught with reading material will have their identities removed and be considered an “eel”.

Montag is the protege of Captain John Beatty (Michael Shannon), who definitely thinks that keeping everyone happy is better than exposing them to the great works of literature. However, he is privately conflicted, because he’s read a lot of the great works, and often scribbles lines inspired by them on tiny pieces of paper he later burns. But outwardly, he’s grooming Montag to become captain, and he’s been doing it since Montag was a junior recruit.

One of Beatty’s informants, Clarise McClellan (Sofia Boutella) intrigues Montag, and he grabs a book and comes to her after she rats out someone who has a treasure trove of books. He falls for Clarise, who shows him that there are a group of off-the-grid rebels who are memorizing as many books as they can with the purpose of implanting all of history’s writings into human DNA. Montag, realizing that he wants more out of life and that Beatty, The Nine, the all-knowing-and-seeing computer system Yuxie, and the Oculus eye drops he uses may not be working in his best interest.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Considering this movie is based on Ray Bradbury’s classic 1953 novel, maybe this will remind you of the first stab at a Fahrenheit 451 film, the 1966 version directed by François Truffaut. But the way the story has been modernized by Amir Naderi and Ramin Bahrani (the latter of whom also directed), it feels more like Minority Report, with a bit of The Social Network‘s paranoia mixed in.

Performance Worth Watching: Jordan and Shannon both put in great performances. Jordan’s version of Montag comes off at first like the typical reality-show d-bag, screaming things like “I’m fire plus 100!”, but is conflicted at what firemen did to his dad, who introduced him to reading. Shannon does his typical fine job as the menacing, but troubled Beatty.

Memorable Dialogue: Beatty: “You see, Guy, we’re not born equal. But we can be made equal by the fire, and then we’ll be happy.” He says that as they explore one of the biggest troves of books either has ever seen, but Beatty knows a little more about why certain books were banned — because they offended someone somewhere.

Single Best Shot: The woman who owns the treasure trove opens up her shirt and shows a belt of books strapped around her waist. Instead of going peacefully while the firemen burn the books, she sets herself and the books on fire, while saying the word “Omnis.”

Sex and Skin: Montag and Clarise get it on, but not much in the way of skin is shown in the movie.

Our Take: You would think the message of Bradbury’s classic would be more relevant than ever, given how divided our society is and how people have been rendered unhappy by media, social and otherwise. Sure, we’re sinking in a media world of our own creation, but the alternative is much, much worse. But there’s a reason why Fahrenheit 451 has been such a difficult book to adapt; what comes off as subtle on the page becomes very heavy-handed on screen. And that’s the problem Bahrani runs into here.

The performances are fantastic, and the visuals are well-done. But the message isn’t exactly subtle. At one point, the pair of firemen find a historian (Keir Dullea… yes the guy from 2001), making a bootleg video about a time when no one was reading articles anymore, “just glancing at headlines, generated by an algorithm.” Yes, we get it… reading the headline of this piece, for instance, will make our brains shrivel and lead us to want to be in a world where information is kept from us to keep us happy.

We give Bahrani and Naderi credit for changing enough of the story to put the focus more on the relationship between Montag, who’s married in the book, and Beatty. But there’s far too much emphasis on “this is what we’re going to become, sheeple!” aspect of the narrative and less about how Montag went from one of the best firemen in America to someone wanting to have more of a purpose in his life.

Our Call: Stream It, especially if you’re a fan of Jordan’s or Shannon’s. Their performances alone are worth it. The action does drag here and there, but the many scenes where both debate the merits of this “happy” America are exciting to watch.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

Watch Fahrenheit 451 on HBO Go