Unless you're sheltered in some underground cave somewhere in Antarctica, it would be hard for you not to know that it was the 84th Annual Academy Awards last night. Now, strictly speaking, the Oscars are not a celebration of books and I'm not about to persuade you that secretly it really is but books do play their part. One of the most anticipated awards is the Oscar for Adapted Screenplay.
The winner of this year's award went to The Descendants. I have, actually, seen this film, and some of its competitors (Hugo and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) but admittedly I haven't read any of the novels. Nevertheless, it did make me ask the question - can there ever be a good Adaptation.
At university I did a module called Literature into Film, where we looked at a handful of classic film adaptations of books ranging from Lolita to Amadeus, from A Room with a View to The Talented Mr Ripley. For my final essay, however, I studied Mrs Dalloway and The Hours by Michael Cunningham and the subsequent film. No reader of this blog will be surprised to learn that my choice stemmed from my fascination with Virginia Woolf but I still struggled with the question of 'good adaptations'.
My belief, and you may disagree, is that you can have a film that perfectly adapts the novel, word by word, in a way that spectacularly recreates the images in your head that the novel originally sparked. This is rare, as everyone's imagination is different, and even when it does happen, it can feel a bit lacklustre because you don't learn or experience anything new. The only times I have truly enjoyed this type of successful adaptation is when I have read the book such a long time ago that I get satisfaction from remembering the story through film.
It is well known that people who read a book before they see the film, are often disappointed as the book is 'always' better. My personal view is that the more you can mentally separate a novel from its film, the more likely you will enjoy both and, also, protect your enjoyment of both.
One of the most debated adaptations is the Harry Potter series. I personally enjoyed the books and the films but I think that is because I so rarely consider them as the same thing.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
and some that are due out in the coming months:
Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
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