john huston adaptation of malcom lowry celebrate novel be very much like his adaptation of flannery oconnor wise blood represent foggy and dreamlike and at time unwatchable . huston find a strange and distant tone that be somewhere between ironic and completely bizarre and with intentionality that be questionable at best . even though huston be get old at this point and he be still tackle challenge material in his old age and which possibly explain the odd mix of provocative and dense material with stilted and unintuitive storytelling . if his age isn not the main culprit for the film weird failing and then it may be his stiflingly traditional film making and which seem a bit outmode in 1984. either way and the film never find a proper stylistic center and cause under the volcano to continually sink into incoherence . huston most grave misstep be his choice to pace the film with mostly static shot and slow edit rhythm . for be so conservatively make and there be an almost constant lack of clarity and a no one element in the film complement the other . albert finney go for broke performance a british diplomat geoffery firmin be fearless and raw and but huston shot selection and mostly bland mise en scene distract from the brimming anger and pain the actor try so nakedly to express . similarly and the absorbing and mythical imagery of the story mexican day of the dead setting instead feels random a the foregrounded symbolism seem ham fisted where it should have be atmospheric . instead of cast the story eerie spell and huston film make suffocate the material and cause it to become overblown yet underdeveloped . that be all not to say huston be completely to blame and however . screenwriter guy gallo task of condense such enormous and literary idea into a stand alone two hour film be admirable and and structurally he do great thing to keep the story immediately revolve around geoffory character arc and but by the end it feel like too many corner be cut to make it happen . the character of hugh and geoffery dash half brother and be extremely undeveloped to the point of feel unnecessary and and yvonne and geoffery estrange wife and be never give the psychological need that would make her sympathy toward him credible . even bad and the conclusion come with a clumsy thud and end the film suddenly and untidily . ( 2 out of 4 ) .