*nodnod* Possibly the movie helped with that, in that... *thinks* ...it was more like Grady was romanticising himself (while his life disintegrated around him) and the movie was just giving him enough rope to hang himself. I mean, he's clearly pretty awful (which is probably why I could stomach Michael Douglas in the role, because anything bar Romancing the Stone that has Douglas as a hero is going to make my brain bleed) and the author of his own misfortunes. IDK. If it doesn't work for you, well, life is short?

ETA: My favourite thing about the film (and I don't think it comes through as clearly in the book) is that there is a perfectly logical chain of events that starts out in a perfectly reasonable place and ends up just out-of-control insane. Each step makes sense, but the journey just gets crazier and crazier, and it was all understated, and I loved that.