Who doesn’t enjoy a good romance? The ‘easier to read’ of the genres has produced the most adaptations this year due to surging online communities on social media. Their success is admirable in an age of publishing uncertainty, and deep diving on how these movies were adapted for the better might just highlight why.
A recent series that came out, Off Campus, a show based on Elle Kennedy’s book The Deal, was a highly anticipated romance release for many this summer. The hockey-based story was found to be an easy, enjoyable read with lovable characters. The biggest issue readers had was the changes of certain plot points, but I’d argue most were necessary deviations to bring the script to life.
The famous “campus-wide hands-off rule” that was implemented by the male main character, Garrett Graham after Hannah Wells breaks up with him, is revered as a grand gesture to get her back by fans of the book, but what would happen if this was shown on screen?
The real-life aspect of it being played by actors changes the context; the actors make the writing real and personalise it. If this was to be acted out, the complaints of a toxic male lead would be rife, and production moving away from keeping potentially precarious elements in the show is exactly the right direction in portraying healthy relationships.
Speaking of the tangible romantic experience, an adaptation that manages to subvert this was Wuthering Heights. Although the original was not written with romance as its main plot; Fennell’s adaptation gets away with unconventional scenes and sexual exploits as the reimagined setting and costumes presents a theatricality that borders on avant-guard.
Unlike in The Deal, the characters become less human than they were in the source material. This ends up making the eccentric promiscuity digestible as they are no longer the characters from the book. The movie was controversial, which means you either loved it or hated it, and lovers of Brontë’s original work usually align with the latter.
Many writers use a blend of romance and fantasy, ‘romantasy’, to blur the boundaries of what is acceptable, as it’s no longer a ‘normal/human’ love story. Holly Black gets away with morally grey characters in her Folk of the Air trilogy, that people adore together because they are removed from real life. Whilst an adaptation of any ‘romantasy’ book would invite criticism, it undoubtably avoids the same issues as a modern romance.
Her main characters progress from enemies to strategic partners and lovers with varying degrees of violence. Their tumultuous love story is still enjoyable as the reader recognises this isn’t a conventional relationship due to the addition of mythical attributes and it being set in a fantasy world.
Romance adaptations are horrendously difficult to perfect as directors must observe the current climate and sacrifice elements of the book that no longer reflect healthy boundaries. Depending on how they are directed, and whether they make it over the top, such as in Wuthering Heights to justify it, or remove the dubious content entirely, like in Off Campus, the product will not satisfy all those who consume it.