It’s pretty common for movie adaptations of literally any previous body of work – be it comics, books or animations – to not quite meet the expectations of many of its fans. Reasons for this may vary, from the white-washing of originally diverse characters, to the director changing the plot so much that you have to wonder if they even so much as skimmed the book. They can’t put every single book scene into a movie – no matter how important you feel those two side-characters’ discussion about how best to cook an egg is to the overall plot – and that always disappoints. But every now and then there are movies that get it right; movies that don’t just skim through the world you’ve read and grown to care about, but present it and make it real, at times even adding something to it. So we have put together a list of some great book-to-movie gems!
1. Stardust (Author: Neil Gaiman/ Director: Matthew Vaughn)
This is a fantasy novel about young and scrappy Tristran Thorn from the village of Wall; so named because of the wall that separates it from the magical land of Faerie into which no one from the human world is allowed to cross (except during a single festival day). To win the heart of his apparent true love, he vows to get her the star they watch fall into Faerie one moonlit night. But evidently, nothing turns out as he expects. The movie adaptation for this book is one of those few which add many great things to the story without really changing it or being overbearing. Although it did make a significant change in the tone of the ending, the book’s being a lot more somber and “realistic”, it was an ending to be expected from a fantasy movie and even proved to be more enjoyable.
2. Matilda (Author: Roald Dahl/ Director: Danny DeVito)
This movie is about Matilda, an exceptionally smart little girl with the power of telekinesis. Unfortunately, she has very neglectful and self-centered parents who don’t value education in the slightest. But it’s when she enters school that we see the real villain of the story: Miss Trunchboll, her sadistic principal with a profound hatred for children. So, Matilda must use her power and her wits to get the best of all the bullies in her life and help her friends and homeroom teacher too. There are quite a few differences between the 1998 novel and its 1996 adaptation, but I feel they’re minor and don’t change the overall emotions and ideas of Matilda. I love this movie just as much now as when I first saw it as a kid. It presents an intelligence and importance in children which (although the examples in the movie are obviously exaggerated) does exist and is very often overlooked. Generally, this is just a very wholesome movie that hits all the right feels.
3. Fight Club (Author: Chuck Palahniuk/ Director: David Fincher)
If you don’t know what the first rule of fight club is, you can’t sit with us. But anyway, I’m going to break it to tell you how much the movie did justice to the novel. Both are basically about an office worker who’s looking for a way to get some meaning back into his life and finds it in Tyler, with whom he starts a fight club to punch the existential numbness away. There’s a whole commentary on consumerism and masculinity here that I wrote an entire paper on, but for the purpose of this article, I’ll just say the movie delivers it thoroughly. The imagery and monologues set tones of monotony, excitement and general grunge very well throughout.
P.S. Making a Fight Club and Mean Girls reference in one sentence was really the highlight of my day.
4. Mistress of Spices (Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni/ Director: Paul Mayeda Berges)
Both the book and the novel follow Tilo, a shopkeeper born in India who’s been given the mission, as Mistress of Spices, of helping her customers satisfy their needs and fulfil their desires. However, when she meets Raven (renamed Doug in the movie), she’s deeply attracted to him and breaks the rules which govern her powers. The consequences of this are many not just for her but also for her customers. There are a few differences in the way her magic works, how/when she uses it and her appearance overall. But I think the biggest one in terms of an actually negative change is in her love interest. From Raven to Doug was a big leap and though I love McDermott in American Horror Story, he wasn’t the right person for this part, especially seeing as the book strongly implies that he’s Native American.
5. Pride and Prejudice (Author: Jane Austen/ Director: Joe Wright)
“Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?” (from IMDb)
Okay, I could pretty much just type Keira Knightley’s name here and leave it at that. Her on-screen presence alone in this movie is enough to recommend it. But obviously, it’s only one of the many reasons why this adaptation was so completely right. Elizabeth and Darcy’s chemistry and tension was so well-delivered, it was palpable. What few changes were made were all positive and simply added to the enjoyment story.
6. Jane Eyre (Author: Charlotte Brontë / Director: Cary Fukunaga)
There are SO many adaptations of this novel: silent film, feature film, series, prequels, retellings, spin-offs, etc. It’s gotten to the point where the over-abundance of canon has provided ample room to explore this story in any way you want. Because of this, I think it’s very hard to “get it wrong”. Regardless, the quality of Jane Eyre’s film adaptations (at least the ones I’ve seen) has left many fans more than satisfied. I chose the 2011 adaptation because Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender are two of my favorite actors and their performances here were top-notch.
7. Coraline (Author: Neil Gaiman/ Movie director: Henry Selick)
The book focuses on Coraline, a little girl who finds a mysterious passageway behind the locked door in her new home’s drawing room. Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her “other” parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coraline begins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children trapped in a mirror. The movie was made with Gaiman’s approval and cooperation, which is probably what made it be so true to the novel’s tone. Add to that some beautiful, unique stop-motion animation and you get the perfect adaptation for this chilling novel.
PS. I love Neil Gaiman’s writing and have generally dug all the adaptations of his work. So, if you’re anything like me, I’d suggest keeping an eye out for a series that’s coming out on April 30th which is based on American Gods. The trailer looks GREAT! A+ casting.
8. Wide Sargasso Sea (Author: Jean Rhys / Director: John Duigan)
As I mentioned before, people have explored many tenets of Jane Eyre, but this one is by far my favorite! I highly recommend reading the novel if only to see the way the author describes and gives real depth to a character who’s entirely unexplored in the original work. The story revolves around Antoinette Cosway and ranges from her childhood in Jamaica, to her unhappy marriage to a newly arrived English gentleman who’s never named. The novel touches on themes of post-colonialism, displacement, madness, search for identity, oppression in a patriarchal society, and power relations between men and women. Needless to say, the movie had a lot to live up to. But its imagery and the actors’ stellar performances were very effective in delivering all these themes as well.
9. Atonement (Author: Ian McEwan/ Director: Joe Wright)
Both the book and the film are cover an upper-class girl’s half-innocent mistake and its consequences over the course of several decades beginning in 1930s England. The film stars Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, proving once again that it’s not just sticking closely to the book that makes a great adaptation, it’s the performances. And these two always deliver. Although I’m not familiar with his earlier work, James McAvoy has recently proven to have some serious acting chops (see. X-Men, Split, Victor Frankenstein, etc.).
10. Alice in Wonderland (Author: Lewis Carroll/ Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson)
Although the 1951 animated version is the one pictured, the version directed by Tim Burton has an interesting take on it as well (and it stars Mia Wasikowska so there’s that). Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (or Alice in Wonderland) is about a girl named Alice, who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by many strange creatures. The original adaptation was one of my favorite movies as a kid and given its content, I don’t think anything is “too out there” when it comes to this novel. So despite the fact that the 2010 version diverged entirely from the original plot, its version of “what happens next” is very interesting. In it, “nineteen-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen’s reign of terror.” (IMDb)
11. Like Water for Chocolate (Author: Laura Esquivel/ Director: Alfonso Arau)
“Tita and Pedro want to get married, but Tita must take care of her aging mother and is not allowed to marry. Pedro ends up marrying Tita’s sister, but lets Tita know he only married her sister to be closer to her. When Tita is forced to make the wedding cake, the guests at the wedding are overcome with sadness… Tita has discovered she can do strange things with her cooking.” (IMDb) The adaptation was very faithful to the book even if it didn’t mention every single event that happened. This is probably because the screenwriter for the movie was Esquivel herself, so who best to decide the most important aspects of her novel to leave in?
These are a few of many adaptations which are widely loved by readers. I think the most important aspect of adapting a novel to film isn’t just sticking closely to the original (though that’s much appreciated), but also understanding the tone and messages the author was trying to send. It’s keeping in mind that, however many changes are made, adding to the story is possible and can in many cases have really good results. Some honorable mentions are The Host, Twilight, and The Maze Runner (not the sequel, it’s like the directors only read the summary for that one, man. I suffered).