I think I’ve read this movie before…

I never quite come to terms with film adaptations of the books I love. More often than not, when I catch word of a new movie in the works, my heart plummets. I am a very visual reader, and the images I store in my head connected to characters, scenery, and even atmosphere stick with me long after I have finished reading. These perceptions rarely match up with those of the director, so when I finally force myself to sit down and watch a new cinematic interpretation of a favorite novel, I often feel like a cat being petted the wrong way: the intention was nice, but the experience is uncomfortable. Yet oddly enough, my reaction to artistic license regarding storyline changes is not as hostile. Depending on how the altered scene or dialogue is incorporated into the story, I often end up approving of the director’s decision.

Here are some examples of some films that I have loved, a few that have set my teeth on edge, and one that I beg the deities will never ever be made.

Jane Eyre

Of the numerous attempts at capturing Bronte’s work on screen, this 2006 BBC miniseries is my favorite. Past offerings had always failed me in some way: Orson Wells did not play Rochester, but instead played Orson Wells. Timothy Dalton gave an admirable Rochester performance, but was slightly too affable (not to mention gorgeous), the film quality was dreadful, and Zelah Clarke was a weak-spined Jane who would have run for the hills if faced with the real Rochester. Charlotte Gainsbourg was appropriately cast in the role of Jane; do
not get me started on how William Hurt could never, ever be Rochester. But here, Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens perfectly capture my sense of what the dynamic between Jane and Rochester would have been. With Rochester’s morose yet wry proclamations and intense scrutiny of Jane, and Jane’s quiet yet confident demeanor with humor tinging her responses, Wilson and Stephens exuded an easy camaraderie that I always knew Jane and Rochester had shared. Their passion couldn’t have grown without it, yet previous interpretations have always missed this crucial dynamic. Though I have not yet seen the recent big-screen version starring Mia Wasikowska, it will take a grand performance to surpass my love of this version.

Pride and Prejudice

Yes, I know the 1995 BBC miniseries is more thorough. I agree, Colin Firth makes a better Darcy, and I’m not necessarily a fan of Keira Knightley. Yet I feel that the 2005 film version captured a humor that the 1995 version failed to exude. The supporting cast is wonderful, especially Donald Sutherland as Lizzie’s tolerant, and only sometimes ridiculous, father. And the cinematography is absolutely beautiful. If you have a long, gloomy afternoon to fill, I recommend the miniseries, but for for a two-hour dose of Jane Austen, I always reach for this movie.

A Room With a View

This 1985 big-screen take on Forster’s brilliant novel managed to retain all of the wit and dreaminess of his prose. It’s a bit like dropping in on your eccentric cousins; you’re not quite sure whether you are enjoying your visit or not until you leave and determine that it was quite a nice interlude after all. Extra points for capturing Helena Bonham Carter before leaving loveliness behind for quirkiness, and for giving us several of the best screen kisses I’ve seen.

Stardust

Anything that Neil Gaiman has laid his pinky on is pure gold. Stardust is no exception, and received a criminally low response from audiences when it came out. While the additions of certain characters (Robert DeNiro’s Captain Shakespeare, for one) border on the absurd, that doesn’t stop me from loving them. Stardust never takes itself seriously, much like the next entry on my list, and is all the more perfect for it. Plus, Mark Strong is one of my favorite underappreciated actors, which bumps it up even higher on my list.

The Princess Bride

Best fairy tale movie of all time. Nothing you can say will convince me otherwise. I was in love with Westley at three years old, and I’ve never quite gotten over it. To ensure that I was suitably prepared for the day when he would walk in the door and profess his love for me, I used to put on a sparkly gold earmuff-like contraption and roll down the incline of my neighbor’s back yard shouting “Oh my sweet Westley, what have I done!” That’s dedication.

Harry Potter

I know, I have already admitted to only reading up through the third book, so I can’t really compare the cinematic to the reading experience. From what I’ve heard, the films dropped the ball a few times. But for ten years of sustained excellence and excitement, I have to give credit to a franchise that rode through eight films on high notes in an industry where sequels more often than not fall flat.

Where the Heart Is

The first time I saw this movie, I yelled. I stomped and shook fingers at the screen and delivered long diatribes. Novalee does not marry Forney. She does not marry him, and she most certainly does not marry him in a Wal-Mart. That was not the end of the novel, and should not have been the end of the movie. Nevermind that this was likely what happened to the characters after the last page; I wanted a true interpretation of the story I had so loved and read countless times throughout my fourth grade year. Now, I am slightly more forgiving toward this film, but it still fails to capture the images that flitted through my mind as I first read the book.

Twilight

Stephanie Meyer cannot write. I understand this, I accept this, yet I am still confident enough in myself to admit that Twilight was like literary crack. For all of her unnecessary adjectives, Meyer came up with a story that readers compulsively ate up, despite knowing it was unforgiveably unhealthy. Then the movie came out…and the book suddenly seemed a great artistic masterpiece.

The Prestige

I can’t quite put my finger on why this film didn’t work for me. I suspect the fault is largly my own. When I read the book, I already knew that a movie was in the works, and so I went ahead with the images of Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman in my mind. I just never bothered to clarify which character each portrayed, and got a surprise when I sat down to watch the movie and found that I had gotten it backwards. I never quite recovered, and the movie failed to flesh out the experience I felt when reading the book. None of the slightly sick anticipation that I felt while reading came across as a viewer, nor did the near-fear that I felt upon the book’s conclusion. I think that cutting out the present-day narrator was a huge mistake, as I felt his part was one of the most compelling of the novel, so this movie failed to draw me in.

Dracula

What can I say…even Anthony Hopkins couldn’t save this film. Scratch that- even GARY OLDMAN could not salvage the pieces of this cinematic travesty into something resembling Braham Stoker’s masterpiece. Rather than list all the ways this film simply got it wrong, I will give you a token example. The driving force behind the whole book is Jonathan Harker’s visit to Dracula’s castle. Jonathan is a crucial character, and the filmmakers decided that Keanu Reeves was the actor best suited to fill his shoes. The filmmakers then realized their dire mistake as Keanu Reeves cannot actually act and never gave a convincing performance after Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and they cut Jonathan’s dialogue down to nil. Ah, the tribute Stoker must have felt.

Fever series

I fear my request will not be granted, since I hear there is an adaptation already in the works. Though I posted a cast list a week ago, I honestly cannot believe that the filmmakers will be able to find actors to fill these characters’ shoes. They truly were written to exist only in the reader’s mind, for all that Moning wrote a tale gritty enough to imagine actually happening in an alternate Dublin and, someday, right next door. There is no way Hollywood will adequately depict the tone of these novels, and I really would rather they never tried. For now, I can only cross my fingers and hope.