After taking the last decade off to let its controversy die down, “A Million Little Pieces” is back: in movie form. That’s right, Oprah Winfrey’s favorite punching bag has returned after a long layoff, hoping that the patina of its fabricated “True Story” claim has faded with time. James Frey made a lot of waves in 2006 when the juicier bits of his memoir could not be substantiated, leading to his admission that many of the particulars had just been invented out of whole cloth.
The film adaptation is thus skating on already brittle ice, made thinner still by the fact that it is based on a screenplay by the movie’s star, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Avengers: Age of Ultron”), his first, and is directed by that man’s wife, Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Fifty Shades of Grey”). What audiences are left with, then, is a movie mired in controversy, penned by a rookie screenwriter, and helmed by a director who is also in love with the star.
READ MORE: ‘A Million Little Pieces’: James Frey’s Lies Are Even More Apparent [TIFF Review]
There’s no shortage of good drama to be found in a riveting addiction story, however, and the fact that Frey made up all the best parts does, if nothing else, promise an interesting ride. Crack cocaine, alcohol, rehab, suicide, and dental work without anesthetic are just a few of the book’s more memorable highlights and should translate well to the big screen. It’s worth remembering, after all, that before the book club lynch mob came for Frey with knives out, the “memoir” sold reasonably well, so there is a proven market for this story.
Only time will tell if the saga still resonates despite the whole “made up” hullabaloo. Yet if Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s script is worth a damn, and the film can overcome the myriad hurdles thrown in front of it, “A Million Little Pieces” will be a success story on par with the fabricated one featured in it.
“A Million Little Pieces” will arrive in theaters on December 6.
