Day 28: Film adaptations

Sorry this is late! For some reason it didn't post last night and I didn't know until now.

I always expect the film adaptation of a book I've read to be terrible. I expect this is a product of my overzealous imagination, as I have the perfect images of each and every character I read about imprinted on my mind like light on my retinas -- only far more permanent.

For me, casting and script are the two most important parts of film adaptations. Thankfully, most films of recent books tend to keep the author as one of the script-writers (or at least keep them informed) so generally the script is a condensed version of the novel it’s based on. However, there will be the occasional film for which the scriptwriters entirely ignore the plot of the book, instead simply taking the characters and inserting them into a series of action sequences; the only example I can think of is 'The Saga of Darren Shan', but I've seen others.

Going back to casting, I'd say that it makes the difference between a good adaptation and a bad adaption (though not necessarily a bad film, just not true to the book). For example, I found the casting in the BBC TV series of 'Pride and Prejudice' to be completely spot on; I could tell which of the Bennet sisters were which just from them walking along, without even being told their names, and Lizzie was the perfect mix of kind and judgemental. The film, however, was excellent, but the characters weren't the same as the characters from the novel. The Bennets all sort of merged into one, and Lizzie lost all her delightful sarcasm and wit, in favour of a smiling, laughing main character.

Similarly, the best-of-British cast in 'Harry Potter' gave us the perfect cast for roles such as Bellatrix, Snape, McGonagall, Hagrid, Fudge, and Umbridge, but the younger generation of actors -- Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Matt Lewis, Evanna Lynch, Bonnie Wright -- grew into their characters and became perfect for them. In 'The Hunger Games', I fully expected to hate the film because I didn't like the look of the cast, but they more than lived up to my expectations: if they were not exactly what I'd imagined, then they were still perfectly suited to their roles in a slightly different way.

Recently, I've been keeping an eye on the casting for 'Catching Fire', the sequel to 'The Hunger Games', as well as Cassie Clare's 'City of Bones'. It helps that I happen to know who most of the actors and actresses in these two in-production films are, so I can judge whether or not they're suited to the roles. So far, I'm pretty impressed with the actors involed. The scriptwriters just need to give them the right things to work with.

One thing that bothers me about film adaptations is when they change the title entirely; 'Before I Die', a novel I mentioned yesterday, has a film that's very recently come out called 'Now Is Good'. Personally, I preferred the original title. Besides, fans of the book should be able to refer to both under the same title; changing the name very much signifies a split between the book and the film, which worries me because it tends to lead to script changes. Still, I'll wait to see 'Now Is Good' for myself.

Another film coming out this year is 'The Great Gatsby', which is based on one of my favourite books. The choice to have Leonardo DiCaprio play Gatsby is questionable, since I'm not sure he can play Gatsby's insecurities well, but he is an incredible actor so he might manage it.

Of course, I mustn't forget that plays are often made into films; it's not just novels. The main difference from novels is that plays are written to be watched, but there's a huge discrepancy between watching a play and watching a film. In English, we're currently watching a film of 'Hamlet'; having seen this very same version of 'Hamlet' (with the same actors) a few years ago, I'd say that the film loses some of its atmospheric quality, but that's to be expected. The quality of the production hasn't lessened, so perhaps film adaptations of plays can be just as enjoyable as the plays themselves, but they are much more accessible.