Weekly Geeks: Sometimes, The Movie Is Better

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Although Dewey gave many varied examples in this week’s Weekly Geeks prompt, I’m going with an obvious and, to me, the most familiar method of storytelling – movies, of course. Like many people in these modern times, I was watching movies before I ever learned how to read. (The first film I ever saw in the cinema was Supergirl, which, at the time, seemed supremely magical, although that youthful assessment failed to stand the test of time.)

Aside from books, movies are one of my favorite distractions, and dissecting books adapted to film goes hand-in-hand with that. Sometimes, my two great loves glean fantastic results (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, anyone?) and sometimes not (The Seeker still makes me violent when I’m reminded of it). Here’s a smattering of my favorite adaptations:

Fight Club
Let it be known that I am not a fan of Chuck Palahniuk. I’ve read a few of his books, Fight Club among them, but I’ve never gotten the point. On paper, it reads like every other ranting coffeehouse poet/musician who doesn’t realize that cultivated jadedness is already passe. The film, however, gave me a different experience. The imagery was visceral, not annoying; the dialogue was provocative; and, despite (or is it because of?) the violence, the characters and themes were still relatable. The film gave me a new appreciation for what Chuck Palahniuk was trying to say, and while I’m still not a fan, I’m always excited to hear about (thus far nonexistent) films based on his work.

Children of Men
Children of Men is based on PD James’ novel of the same name(well, except the novel was called The Children of Men, if you’re going to be picky) , although the film makes so many changes that the two works are pretty much independent of each other. As directed by Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men becomes a scathing commentary on the state of politics, world trade, and war, but Mr. Cuaron doesn’t forget about the strength of human relationships, as illuminated in one of the film’s most poignant scenes, when Jasper, with humor and resignation, makes the ultimate sacrifice for Theo and Kee.

A lot of the time, changes to any written work don’t translate well to film or are met with protest by readers. But that sentiment doesn’t apply to Children of Men. In fact, I’ll just go ahead and say it. Forget about the book. The movie was better.

Great Expectations
The last adaptation to round out my list (although, really, I could go on and on and on and on) is Great Expectations, which was also directed by the prolific Alfonso Cuaron. I’m not saying that Mr. Cuaron’s film is better than Dickens’ novel; I just think that Mr. Cuaron did all non-readers a great service by making a film that reinforces Great Expectations‘ universality.

In this retelling, England has been replaced with Florida. Pip has been renamed Finn and moves to New York to become an artist. (The wonderful Francesco Clemente supplied the paintings and drawings for the film.) Estella is still the elusive object of desire, and Ms. Havisham becomes Ms. Dinsmoor, who, in the film, plays Besame Mucho on an endless loop and generally acts like a loopy old bat. Despite the change in characters and setting, much of the oppressive, Gothic atmosphere of the source material is retained in the film. I’ve seen this film well over a dozen times, and it still destroys me each time.

There are a few other adaptations that come to mind, but those are my top three. That may change, however, what with Twilight coming out this year (I’m still reading it, but I’ve already become a full-blown Edward Cullen whore, despite my age and better judgment) and Alfonso Cuaron’s vision of The History of Love coming out next year. Anyway, this is a personal and subjective list, and one that I’m always willing to add to, so I’d be happy to hear your film recommendations.

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Filed under Film Adaptations, Weekly Geeks

Tags: Children of Men, Fight Club, great expectations