Seeking: murderous, scarred, self-flagellating, albino monk

Saw The Da Vinci Code today (no big spoilers, read on). Watched it in the Siam Pavalai theater, the one that seems to be modeled after the place where they give out the Academy Awards. It was nice, quite grand really, but it didn't do anything to improve the movie. I thought the book was bad, but man, the movie was just about as awful. What saved it essentially were two things - two people to be exact. First, the actress who played Sophie Neveu, the female lead (can't remember her name off the top of my head); CNN said her accent defeated her, but I'm an English teacher and beg to differ. Her face has such a quality to it. She's not drop-dead gorgeous, but she has the classic features of an old-fashioned movie star and there's something about her that just compels the eye. I thought she looked fantastic in the movie and she was a perfect fit for the character, flawlessly cast. Second, and this is going to sound weird, but I fell completely in love with Paul Bettany's character, the monk Silas. It's crazy, I know, because what could possibly be captivating about a murderous, scarred, self-flagellating albino monk? Beats me. All I know is that when the character of Silas was on-screen, I stopped asking myself why I was wasting my time with this silly cinematic escapade. He completely mesmerized me. The way Bettany played him - all at once a fanatic driven by blind unquestioning devotion that spilled over into a fatal rage and a lost, troubled soul searching unrelentlessly for salvation - it was phenomenal. I was totally in love. When Silas looked up with such naked desperation in his eyes, I just wanted to reach out and hug him. That's quite a feat, considering his darker, almost animalisti,c actions. Not to mention that although his character is horrifically scarred and pigment-less, Paul Bettany was still, in my opinion, smokin' hot. I kept hoping he'd pop up more often as the movie wore on, but of course, it was mostly Tom Hanks and the lovely female lead. At least she was there or I might've walked out in protest. As you've no doubt deduced by now, I was not a fan of the book and I wasn't planning to be a fan of the movie - I'm not. The only reason I would ever waste another two or so hours with it is to see Silas again and that's it.

Final thought: So dark the con of this movie.