1984 (1984): Did It Stick the Landing...Or Just Implode?

Okay, so I finally got around to watching the 1984 movie adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Look, the source material is incredible, right? Orwell's vision is terrifying and still resonates today. But I'm always skeptical of adaptations, especially when the book is so iconic. What I'm struggling with is the pacing. It felt like it crawled in the first half. The atmosphere was definitely oppressive, credit where it's due – Hurt really sells the broken spirit of Winston. But did anyone else feel like it took forever to actually get anywhere? Like, the romance with Julia felt rushed after all that buildup of Winston just being miserable at work. Which, I guess, is kinda the point? That love is difficult in such a dystopia. But still...maybe needed some tightening. I want to be clear that I appreciate that it IS a slow burn but I felt like the payoff wasn't worth it. All the doom and gloom should of lead to something that leaves you gutted. That said, the Room 101 scene...Jesus. That was brutal. I think they nailed the sheer psychological horror of that. But even then, did it quite earn that moment? Like, did they spend enough time building up Winston's… everything to make it truly devastating? Maybe the book just works better at slowly eroding your soul, which is hard to translate to screen. So, what did everyone else think? Did the movie live up to the book's legacy, or did it fall short? And what about the pacing? Was I just impatient, or did it drag for anyone else too? Let me know your thoughts and if you thought it lived up to the book's themes. Also, I was surprised to see that the movie came out in 1984. Pretty trippy.