I got this idea late last Monday night while I was procrastinating about reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (it was due back at the library two days ago, but I just can't force myself to finish it. The procrastination has worked out well though - I cleaned my bathroom, researched bus routes, updated my iPod and made ice pops). Obviously we've all heard about the upcoming remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. I won't include that film in this list because a) it hasn't been made yet and b) I didn't love the book that much. I will say that I like the casting of Daniel Craig, although I think he's a little too good-looking, and I don't know enough about Rooney Mara to judge (although I was pulling for Ellen Page). Similarly, I won't mention my favorite book, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, even though an adaptation has been announced, starring Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks - I'm very excited about this. So what is on the list? Books that I loved but that are not necessarily my absolute favorites that have been made into movies that I may or may not have liked. Too vague? Like I said a couple of days ago, I've been having a little trouble with this feature. Anyway, let's get started:
1. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (based on A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-3, by Lemony Snicket)
I said before that I don't like to talk about this film, but here I am, talking about it for a second time. I am a huge fan of the book series - I think it's far superior to Harry Potter because it has a more sophisticated (and very funny) style, and I love how creepy and twisted the plot is. Obviously I don't agree with truncating the first three books into one film. You lose so much of the detail and way too much of the plot. The wordplay is particularly fun in the books, and even with a voiceover, it doesn't translate. Also, the supporting cast is totally wasted. Meryl Streep and Billy Connolly play their roles well but are victims of the gutted plot, but take a look at the amazing cast that plays Olaf's troupe: Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Adams, Craig Ferguson, Luis Guzman. That's a dynamite supporting cast, but they don't get anywhere near enough to do. I would also include Catherine O'Hara in here, but her character, Justice Strauss, doesn't get a lot to do in the books either. I would always like to see more of her, though. Stylistically, it was very good, but otherwise it missed the mark. It's a shame, I would have liked to see how the later books would have been handled. The subject matter gets way darker.
2. Choke (based on Choke by Chuck Palahniuk)
Writing this list has made me realize that the books I like are often a little twisted. Take the entire bibliography of Chuck Palahniuk, for example. He has invented some of the grimiest, most bizarre subcultures in literature - like Fight Club or the nightmarish Party Crashing in Rant. For what it's worth, Fight Club was quite a good adaptation, but the book ranks low on my list of Palahniuk favorites. My actual favorite of his books is Survivor, which is allegedly in development (as are Invisible Monsters, Lullaby and Diary). But today I want to talk about Choke. Like most of Palahniuk's main characters, Victor has an obsession/addiction - he actually has both: an obsession with pretending to choke in restaurants and a sex addiction. The plot is pretty flimsy compared to other Palahniuk novels, but the film keeps it moving along at a good pace. Sam Rockwell is so charming as Victor that it's easy to overlook his inherent skeeziness, and Anjelica Huston is a lot of fun as his mother. The film is a very good adaptation of the book because it adds a neater structure while keeping the tone and humor intact, but I would really like to see a film of one of the more complicated novels. Specifically, I'm talking about Haunted. The novel is made up of grotesque short stories - one of which is the now-infamous "Guts," which has caused at least 60 people to faint at readings - with a connecting narrative that is shocking, twisted and brilliant. I think if someone can adapt that book well, it would be an amazing film.
3. The Golden Compass (based on The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman)
Like the Lemony Snicket books, The Golden Compass almost defied adaptation because of its dark tone. I can't describe the basic plot of the trilogy in a sentence, but one part of the story is Lord Asriel's quest to kill God. Yeah, breezy stuff for kids. Not only that, but The Golden Compass is the first of a trilogy and ends as such, with a cliffhanger (a cliffhanger that follows Lord Asriel murdering a child - good luck, screenwriter). You almost wonder why they bothered making a film at all. To my mind, the film they did make is an OK fantasy-adventure for kids, but it's not The Golden Compass. The story is neutered and unbalanced and too much of the complex world Pullman created goes unexplained. Even looking at the poster, I can see that their focus is all wrong: too much Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), Mrs Coulter (Nicole Kidman) and polar bears, and not enough Lyra. Again, like A Series of Unfortunate Events, the styling and design are very good. Also again, the later books introduce better characters and more interesting plot points, so it's too bad they won't be adapted.
4. High Fidelity (based on High Fidelity by Nick Hornby)
OK, finally an adaptation that I wholeheartedly loved. I actually saw the film first. The tone seemed to suggest that the audience was supposed to find fault with the way Rob lived, but I didn't. I identified so much with him as a character, and John Cusack is so incredibly likable that I really turned against Laura and actually got mad when they got back together in the end. I don't know if that was the right reaction. Probably not. The adapted screenplay is very funny and has the same lighthearted style as the novel, and at the risk of repeating myself, John Cusack is great. He manages to transition from London to Chicago in a believable way, unlike the Red Sox Fever Pitch remake (full disclosure: I LOVE that movie, but once again, it's not Fever Pitch), and Rob breaks the fourth wall in a way that isn't annoying or hokey. This film was also the first time I remember seeing Jack Black, and he just kills it. I also loved Joan Cusack, even though she's in it too briefly. When I read the novel later, it was a little weird to see how Barry wasn't really like Jack Black at all, and Laura was disconcertingly sympathetic. Rob was still wonderful though - I actually didn't get the sense that Hornby found fault with him as much as Cusack did, but I may have missed that. I think it's a good adaptation because the two are identifiably the same thing, but they are also unique in their settings and characters.
5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (based on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey)
I don't have a lot to say about these two, but they are simply one of the best films you'll ever see and one of the best books you'll ever read. I think the book is the one that surprises people because it is so engrossing and beautifully written. The adaptation to film is also impressive because the book is written from the point of view of Chief Bromden. It's hard to rework a first-person book into a film. A Series of Unfortunate Events turned its first-person narrative into a voiceover - always a little awkward - while High Fidelity had the protagonist speak directly to the audience - a risky move, but it worked. While I was looking something up just now, I read that Ken Kesey is on record as not liking the film, and I think that's really a shame. It's a great film and does justice to his novel, but absolutely the book is better.
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