Why are we so upset when a novel fails to translate to the big screen? By Gillian Orr, The Independent.
AP
Page returners: Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess in 'One Day'
The disappointment was palpable in the ladies' toilets. Straight after an early screening of One Day, the new film adapted from the bestselling book of the same name, women were moaning over the stalls to each other.
"Her accent was awful," lamented one voice.
"It just... wasn't as good as the book, was it?" the other called back.
This is a typical reaction when a bestseller is made into a film and you can expect to hear more of this whining after One Day is released in cinemas today. Hopes for this film are high; people care about this film a lot. And people care about this film so much because they care about the book: it is some time since a novel resonated with the British public as strongly as One Day.
Published in 2009, David Nicholls' love story begins on 15 July 1988. We meet Emma and Dexter on the day they graduate from university; the novel then checks up on them every 15 July for the next 20 years. Sometimes they are friends, other times they are not speaking, but the "will they won't they" aspect drives the plot forward and we are constantly kept guessing as to whether this vastly different pair will end up together.
No comments:
Post a Comment