Over the years, we have seen hundreds and hundreds of novels adapted for the big screen. Some of those adaptations really a triumph, while other bear no resemblance to the original text whatsoever.
Some truly wonderful books have been truly ruined by the film; you really do have to wonder sometimes why the author signed over the rights to the story in the first place.
We take a look at a small handful of books that really have been ruined in the transition from page to screen - POTENTIAL SPOILERS.
- P.S. I Love You - written by Cecilia Ahern
P.S. I Love You is one of the most powerful and touching novels that death with the struggle people face to cope and get over something like that. Cecilia Ahern really understands the pain that people feel and the desperation to hold on long after a loved one has gone.
This is a book that really will touch anyone who has ever lost somebody close - I cried pretty much from start to finish.
P.S. I Love You was brought to the big screen in 2007, and was written and directed by Richard LaGravenese. Sadly, the title and the idea that a man sends his wife letters after his death is the only resemblance the film has to the book.
The power and the emotion of the novel has well and truly been lost and has been placed with clichés and ‘humour’. You get the feeling that they didn’t want to make a ‘depressing’ film and so have tried to make it a rom-com - it doesn’t work.
This is a story about a man who is cut down in his prime, all the plans he had his wife had for their life together are gone - this is not a funny or happy tale. And yet, this is a story of hope. It is a story about accepting and coming to terms with death and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Fans of the book will be outraged when they see how those themes and ideas have been totally disregarded in this terrible movie.
- The Twilight Saga - written by Stephenie Meyer
The Twilight Saga is one of the most popular and loved series of young adult fiction; they are a series of books that really did put author Stephenie Meyer on the map.
Sorry all you TwiHards, but the Twilight Saga is a series of book that was never going to work well on the big screen. Don’t get wrong, I thought books were terrific as Meyer really did develop a wonderful world and some very interesting and complex characters.
However, these are not books that are packed with action; there is a lot of downtime and many chapters in the book where nothing happens. Let’s face it, the stand off with the Volturi at the end of Breaking Dawn is nothing more than a conversation in the woods.
On paper, Meyer makes all of these riveting and you don’t need battles and action to be totally hooked on the story that she is trying to tell. On the big screen, a story where nothing really happens is not all that interesting and the film doesn’t create the same intensity and hold your attention like the author.
To close a franchise, a simple discussion in the woods is just not going to cut it, so they put in that awful fight scene where some of our favourite characters are killed. Of course, it is all a trick and doesn’t really happen - which is one of my pet hates in film.
I saw all of the films on the big screen and really was left cold at the end of every single one, as Meyer’s vision just didn’t make it on to the big screen.
- His Dark Materials - written by Philip Pullman
His Dark Materials is the most celebrated of Philip Pullman’s works, and has been delighting literary audiences for years. In 2007, we saw Northern Lights adapted for the big screen as The Golden Compass.
Chris Weitz was in the director’s chair, while a fantastic cast had been assembled including Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Ian McKellan and Dakota Blue Richards.
If any of you have ever read His Dark Materials you will know that the books are packed with religious controversy and anti-religious elements. Sadly, New Line Cinema lost its bottle after coming under fire from secularist organisations and there were many major changes made late in the production.
We are left with a movie that is nothing more than CGI driven drivel about magic and witches and talking polar bears. Gone are the themes of the rejection of religion and the abuse of power: themes that feature so heavily in the book.
It is such a shame when you see this happen to such a fantastic novel - if you are going to get cold feet about including major controversial elements, then don’t make the film.
This adaptation should have been left to a studio that had the balls to be true to the original text - it may have resulted in this film being more successful at the box office than it actually was.
- My Sister’s Keeper - written by Jodi Picoult
My Sister’s Keeper is another very moving and powerful book that tackles the themes of child illness and a sibling being used to help; possibly even born to saver their older and sick sibling.
The book follows the character of Anna, a young girl who decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body. This is a tense and moving book about a complex family relationship that is pushed to the brink because of the illness of a child.
Much like P.S. I Love You, My Sister’s Keeper’s compelling premise, themes and ideas are totally trashed to make a melodramatic Hollywood movie.
All this film aims to do is make as many people cry as possible and anything profound that the novel had to say is totally and utterly lost.
As if that isn’t bad enough, the ending of the film is the complete opposite to the book; the book’s conclusion is so unexpected and totally devastating compared to the predictability of the film.
It seems that the makers of the movie never had any intention of exploring and developing the moral themes behind this movie, which would have made for a powerful and engaging watch. Major shame!!
- Inkheart - Cornelia Funke
The novel Inkheart was released back in 2003, and was the first in the Inkheart trilogy from author Cornelia Funke.
Inkheart follows a young girl discovers her father has an amazing talent to bring characters out of their books and must try to stop a freed villain from destroying them all, with the help of her father, her aunt, and a storybook's hero.
The book really does have a magic to it as Funke really does celebrate the power of books from start to finish. It is a fast-paced novel that is packed with adventure, excitement and interesting and fun characters.
On the big screen however, Inkheart really does fail to get off the ground and the heart, soul and magic of the novel has been lost in the transition. It just fails to engage from the word go; this is the polar opposite of the novel.
In the right hands, Inkheart could have been a classic children’s movie and the start of a wonderful trilogy. However, it falls really flat and a wonderful novel really has been lost somewhere along the way.
Other adaptations that leave quite a bit to be desired include Jurassic Park, The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and Eragon.
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