Ernest Hemingway is undoubtedly one of America’s most important authors, yet his classics have primarily been adapted for the silver screen in the 20th century, and oft-remembered by cinephiles more so than the average film buff. Some have only been adapted once, like The Snows of Kilimanjaro, while others have had a handful of adaptations like The Sun Also Rises. Meanwhile, Across the River and Into the Trees is only just arriving in theaters in 2024. While Peter Flannery’s screenplay takes liberties with Hemingway’s tragic tale of Colonel Richard Cantwell’s reckoning with life and death, his adaptation of Across the River and Into the Trees still manages to deliver the same sobering conclusion: making peace with the inevitability of death.

Across the River and Into the Trees took nearly a decade to bring to the screen once Flannery set out to adapt it.The first attempt in 2016 would have seen Pierce Brosnan star as the world-weary soldier under the direction of Martin Campbell, but by late 2020, the film came together with Paula Ortiz directing Liev Schreiber and Matilda De Angelis. From there, the adaptation faced numerous setbacks, from insurance issues to the pandemic, to a delay in securing a distributor. But at long last, North American audiences finally have the opportunity to watch a film that European audiences have been praising since 2022.

Ortiz is no stranger to adaptations or tragic tales, having helmed La novia, the adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s 1933 tragedy Blood Wedding, as her second feature film in 2015. She seems uniquely suited for capturing the quiet intimacy and quiet tragedy that exists within Across the River and Into the Trees’ cast of characters, and she knows precisely how to frame a scene to heighten those emotions, just as Hemingway did on the page.

‘Across the River and Into the Trees’ Makes Clever Changes to Hemingway’s Classic

Set during the tail end of World War II, Across the River and Into the Trees follows Colonel Richard Cantewell (Schreiber) on what is, unbeknownst to him, his last three days of life. The opening scene establishes that his health is failing him. Not only does he bear the burden of the injuries he received during World War I, but his heart is failing, and failing fast. Under direct orders from his superior (Danny Huston), the Colonel reluctantly takes some time off to return to the city he loves (Venice) to go on a duck hunt.

Unlike Hemingway’s novel, which starts on Richard’s final day of life and uses flashbacks to fill in the days prior, Across the River and Into the Trees has been reworked to tell the story in chronological order, using brief flashbacks as echoes of the war that haunts him. The linear retelling of the story largely works for the screen, but one can’t help but wonder what it would have looked like to preserve the bittersweet reverence that backward recollections carry at the end. Still, this adaptation captures the atmospheric and sorrow-laden storytelling that comes with turning the pages on Richard’s final days.

Once Richard arrives in Venice, he has a chance encounter with a young countess by the name of Renata (De Angelis), who is immediately entranced by the gruff, yet kindhearted soldier. The pair spend the entire night together, going from restaurant to restaurant, eating and drinking and dancing. There is a quiet intimacy between them as they get to know each other and learn about the wounds that each of them carries. Richard is not just burdened by the wars, but by three failed marriages, the loss of his son, and more, while Renata struggles with the change in her family’s financial situation which will see her married off to a rich man she only claims to love.

Whether it’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a Wes Anderson film, or Ray Donovan, Liev Schreiber always gives 110% in whatever role he is playing, but Across the River and Into the Trees may be a career-best for him. There’s a certain level of nuance required to portray the Colonel as Hemingway wrote him, coupled with having the ability to play into the inherent duality of man. Richard is a man who has killed his fellow man while engaged in the theater of war, and yet he’s still able to be this gentle man. His bloodstained and scarred hands are able to hold Renata’s unblemished hands. He and De Angelis have electric chemistry, and are both able to play Richard and Renata’s relationship with a level of reverence for each other that elevates their performances. It feels like a tour de force for Schreiber, who beautifully inhabits this tragic hero as he reckons with life, death, and the inevitability of both ruin and heal us all. Together they turn Across the River and Into the Trees into more than just a tragic tale, but a tragic romance as well.

‘Across the River and Into the Trees’ Core Themes Remain True in the Adaptation

As with the novel, the film is very keen to showcase the Colonel’s constant state of motion, which is meant to symbolize his journey to death. He embarks on long car rides with Jackson (Josh Hutcherson), which are interrupted only by stops to make peace with his past; while his boat rides and meandering walks with Renata bring this sense of hope for a future that will never be. There’s deeper symbolism there in the dichotomy between a journey on land and a journey by boat, which transforms Renata into an almost Charon-esque role, ushering Richard into the quiet embrace of death.

To an extent, Across the River and Into the Trees sanitizes Richard and Renata’s three-day relationship, likely to appease audiences who would balk at the idea of a 51-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman having a whirlwind romance, but there was intentionality in Hemingway’s decision to craft a relationship between the two of them: the sharp contrast between them is necessary. Thankfully, Ortiz does commit to tender touches, lingering looks, undeniable chemistry, and the most tragic of kisses, which help to craft the final act’s greatest tragedy.

While modern critics might be inclined to call Renata the 1950s equivalent of a manic pixie dream girl, that anachronistic assessment would be a disservice to what the character is meant to be. Renata quite literally means “renewed” and it is through her that Richard is “reborn” for the final time. The adaptation does well with transforming Renata into more of her own character, one with hopes, dreams, and personal strife, but she is still emblematic of the themes Hemingway crafted her from. A youthful symbol of the loss of innocence, the broken promises of a new tomorrow, and bold-faced passion. She and Richard are stark opposites physically, but they are mirrored reflections of each other.

In the final act of Across the River and Into the Trees, the film makes a rather inspired choice to change the ratio. As Richard sits out on the lake and watches ducks fly overhead, the scene slowly expands from 4:3 to 21:9, as if to say he’s finally seeing the full picture and accepting his fate. It’s a poignant end for an oppressively sad tale, and almost makes up for the fact that this adaptation has entirely done away with some of the more vital aspects of the novel’s end.

Across the River and Into the Trees opens in theaters on August 30.

Get tickets