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Pulp friction: Translating novels into movies can be treacherous
Tuesday, February 16, 1999 By Barbara Vancheri, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Borrowing from books (or The Bard) is as much a Hollywood tradition as awards ceremonies or agent swapping.
Sometimes the books are re-created faithfully on screen, as with Martin Scorsese's exquisite "The Age of Innocence," and sometimes they are so overhauled that even the title character is renamed, as with "Simon Birch." It was "suggested by" John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany," not based upon - as anyone who read the rich novel and saw the movie realized.
Screenwriters fiddle with endings (and beginnings and middles), time periods, settings, the very existence or look of characters and their motivations. After all, movie audiences do favor tidy, happy endings.
Changes designed to please moviegoers can ruffle readers who love a published work, whether it's "The Grapes of Wrath" or "Get Shorty." In the best of both worlds, a best-seller such as "The Godfather" fuels the grosses of a movie masterpiece, and a masterpiece such as "Gone With the Wind" sends moviegoers scurrying to the bookstores. Sometimes, the cachet of a book ("Primary Colors") can be exhausted by the time the movie, even an excellent one, comes along.
We are literally and figuratively in the middle of a wave of adaptations, with book-inspired movies opening weekly in the theaters - "Message in a Bottle" arrived in time for Valentine's Day, and "Affliction," based on a Russell Banks novel, hits theaters Friday. "Wonder Boys," from Michael Chabon's novel of the same name, is filming in Pittsburgh with stars Michael Douglas, Robert Downey Jr. and Frances McDormand.
Chabon, however, isn't wedded to seeing every scene make it to the screen. "They've made changes, and I'm sure they'll make more. I'm very philosophical about that. It's a necessary part of turning a novel into a movie," he told the Post-Gazette.
Even authors who realize changes are necessary, however, can find them disconcerting. Jacqueline Mitchard, whose best-selling novel "The Deep End of the Ocean" has been made into a movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer, recently told the Los Angeles Times that by and large she likes the film.
"The essence of what I wrote about - the importance of family and identity and the bonds that sort of defy [impossible odds] are there," she says. The lead character, a mother whose 3-year-old son disappears, has been softened because her angry and troubled personality overpowered the story.
A psychiatrist who figures prominently in the novel has been cut, as has a scene explaining the title. "That was sad for me," she says, "that people could walk out of the theater and say, 'Why was it called "The Deep End of the Ocean"? There's no ocean in it.' " You'll have to read the novel to find out.
Here, then, is a look at some of the books transformed into recent movies and how they fared. "Lost in the translation" refers to something from the book that didn't make it to the screen. "Picture perfect" is something the movie got right.
Movie: "Message in a Bottle."
Book: "Message in a Bottle," a teary romance by Nicholas Sparks about a divorced mother from Boston and a widowed diving instructor from North Carolina. She finds one of his love letters in a bottle and tracks him down.
If you read the book, should you see the movie? Only if you're a fan of old-fashioned romances (complete with obligatory argument in the drenching rain) or unfamiliar with the acting charms of Robin Wright Penn. You may consider some of the additions, such as a family feud, silly.
If you saw the movie, should you read the book? Only if you love the movie so much that you want more or, in this case, a somewhat altered version of the story.
Lost in the translation: Boston. It's now Chicago. Theresa is a researcher rather than a thrice-weekly columnist, and her mentor-managing editor has morphed into an egotistical columnist and changed genders.
Picture perfect: The sailing scenes and the casting of Paul Newman as Kevin Costner's fisherman father. And while Penn doesn't resemble the heroine of the novel ("Her hair was dark brown, cut just above her shoulders, and straight as spider silk"), she brings a freshness to the role. If Meg Ryan is overexposed these days, Penn is underexposed.
Movie: "A Simple Plan."
Book: A novel called "A Simple Plan" by Scott B. Smith about two brothers and a pal who find a downed plane with a dead pilot and $4.4 million in cash.
If you read the book, should you see the movie? Yes, it's a fine adaptation of Smith's intentions, just not a full one.
If you saw the movie, should you read the book? Yes, it explains the characters' motivations and the relationship among the two brothers and the wife far better than the film.
Lost in the translation: The corruption of the brothers by the wife's escalating ambitions. Oddly enough, a scene that seemed destined for the screen - the trio playing Monopoly with some of the cash from the crash - is nowhere to be found.
Picture perfect: The mood is properly ominous, thanks to Sam Raimi's direction and Danny Elfman's score. The casting of Bill Paxton as feed-mill employee Hank Mitchell is just about perfect. And we like the fact that the snow, which we know something about, looks real.
Movie: "At First Sight."
Book: "An Anthropologist on Mars," a collection of seven tales of neurological disorder and creativity, by Oliver Sacks. The story of a blind man who regains his sight, inspiration for the Val Kilmer-Mira Sorvino movie, is among them. It's called "To See and Not See."
If you read the book, should you see the movie? Only if you're interested in the Hollywood-ization of the story. In the book, Virgil is described as an "exceedingly fat," unhealthy 50-year-old who works as a massage therapist at a YMCA. On film, Virgil is a handsome 30-something massage therapist at a fancy spa.
If you saw the movie, should you read the book? Not unless you're interested in very, very rare reversals of blindness, relayed by Sacks in clinical fashion. And good luck getting the book. It took us trips to four stores before locating a copy at Squirrel Hill's Barnes and Noble.
Lost in the translation: Virgil's first trip to the zoo, his inability to distinguish between a similarly colored cat and dog, and the way his sight comes and goes as his family prepares for his wedding. The movie presents a much more upbeat picture of the real Virgil and Amy than the 44-page story does.
Picture perfect: As imperfect as the movie is, it does attempt to show us what Virgil sees when his sight is restored after nearly a lifetime of blindness. It conveys how confusing and disorienting it is.
Movie: "A Civil Action."
Book: "A Civil Action" by Jonathan Harr. A true account of a tangled legal case involving corporate giants, grieving parents and an attorney who is willing to risk everything to win.
If you read the book, should you see the movie? Don't pass up "A Simple Plan" to see it, but sure. John Travolta is watchable, Robert Duvall is smooth as a crafty corporate attorney and William H. Macy excellent as an angry accountant who runs the numbers on what attorney Jan Schlichtmann's crusade has cost everyone.
If you saw the movie, should you read the book? Absolutely, especially since this is a true story. It provides much more background on Schlichtmann and the families from Woburn, Mass., who believe local companies poisoned their water and killed their children who contracted leukemia. The award-winning book also gives you a sense of just how complicated and protracted the case was.
Lost in the translation: The role of the judge. In the book, he is portrayed as issuing biased, bad decisions. At one point, Schlichtmann calls him "demented ... a monster." Even casting John Lithgow in the role doesn't do the trick.
Picture perfect: Water hasn't seemed this lethal since, well, "Titanic." The simple act of drinking water with dinner takes on ominous overtones, especially for a father who seems to know more than he's telling.
Movie: "Prince of Egypt."
Book: The Bible, book of Exodus, Chapters 2-14.
If you read the book, should you see the movie? Why not? Even though it's animated, "Prince of Egypt" is less of a cartoon than Cecil B. De Mille's "The Ten Commandments." It's a serious version of the story of Moses that's not aimed just at kids.
If you saw the movie, should you read the Good Book? The movie itself urges you to do so.
Lost in the translation: The second half of the story of Moses and his people as they wander in the wilderness. "Prince of Egypt" essentially ends with the crossing of the Red Sea, although the last shot shows Moses carrying the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai.
Picture perfect: The stunning animation, so realistic that it sometimes looks like live-action photography, and especially the dream sequence in which the hieroglyphs on the wall of Pharoah's palace come to life and depict how the Egyptian ruler ordered the slaughter of newborn Hebrew males.
Movie: "What Dreams May Come."
Book: Richard Matheson's 1978 novel "What Dreams May Come." TV writer Chris Nielsen (he's a doctor in the movie) dies and goes to heaven, but is willing to give it all up in order to search through hell for his wife after she commits suicide.
If you read the book, should you see the video, coming March 9? Yes, if for no other reason than the film's splendiferous special effects, which depict heaven as a radiant Maxfield Parrish-style painting (complete with wet ink!) and hell as a nightmare vision from Edvard Munch.
If you saw the movie, should you read the book? Definitely. Matheson based his versions of the afterlife on various scientific, religious and mystical theories, which gives the book a feeling of verisimilitude. Chris is less of a saint, making for a better balance with his beloved but troubled Annie.
Lost in the translation: A sensible reason for the major decision Chris makes at the end of the story. In the movie, he makes the choice on pure impulse. In the book, Matheson's celestial mechanics make it a more practical matter. Yet they render Chris' motives no less romantic.
Picture perfect: The scenery, of course. Also, a faithful translation of the scene where Chris finally finds Annie in the hell of her own making, a version of their earthly home in which everything is decaying, and gambles his eternal fate on whether he can save her soul.
Movie: "One True Thing."
Book: A novel by Anna Quindlen also called "One True Thing" about how fatal illness brings lessons about life and death for one family.
If you read the book, should you rent the video, coming March 16? Yes, Meryl Streep gives a beautiful, modulated performance as Kate Gulden, a wife and mother who is dying. Also noteworthy are William Hurt as her English professor-husband and Renee Zellweger as her driven daughter, Ellen, who reluctantly comes home to become a care-giver.
If you saw the movie, should you read the book? It's not really necessary, since the film adaptation is so well done.
Lost in the translation: The stakes of the investigation into Kate's death are much higher in the novel, and Kate has three children - not two - who are nicely fleshed out. In the movie, Ellen's lone brother is a bit player.
Picture perfect: A scene in which Kate gives her daughter advice on planning a wedding (forget flower girls and other pint-size participants) is sad, sweet and funny. It just about shouts: "Excuse me, now this is an Oscar-worthy performance!" And it is.
Movie: "Practical Magic."
Book: Alice Hoffman's novel, "Practical Magic," about the witchy Owens women.
If you read the book, should you see the movie? If you like chick flicks or are particularly enamored of Nicole Kidman or Sandra Bullock, yes. Otherwise, no.
If you saw the movie, should you read the book? Yes. It differs greatly from the film, which borrows a page from "The Exorcist" and gets derailed by special effects.
Lost in the translation: The role of "the aunts," the girls' ancient guardians, is truncated. So is the way the townspeople condemn the witches by day and secretly creep to their back door at night in search of love potions and other spells.
Picture perfect: Two sets of little girls are youthful physical matches for Bullock and Kidman. Also recommended is the soundtrack, which includes Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" and Faith Hill's "This Kiss."
Movie: "Simon Birch."
Book: The movie was "suggested by" a popular John Irving novel, "A Prayer for Owen Meany," a 617-page paperback which is the rich story of a diminutive boy who believes he is an instrument of God.
If you read the book, should you rent the video (tentatively scheduled for April)? Yes, but only if you realize that a partial skeleton of Irving's book made the transition to the screen.
If you saw the movie, should you read the book? Absolutely. It seems as if director Mark Steven Johnson, who adapted the novel, got to page 255 of the paperback and threw up his hands. He shortened the story considerably, omitted the Vietnam War entirely, rewrote the ending and tinkered with other details.
Lost in the translation: Vietnam, for one thing. Owen as a high school student who masterminds all sorts of wonderful stunts and rebellions. And, lastly, the basketball move Owen and his best friend practice and the way it comes in handy in a life-threatening situation.
Picture perfect: The strength of the movie is its casting. First-time actor Ian Michael Smith, who suffers from a syndrome that causes dwarfism, is irresistible as Simon Birch. He holds his own against experienced actors, including young Joseph Mazzello as his best friend, Joe, and Ashley Judd as Joe's loving mother.
Movie: "Beloved."
Book: Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "Beloved," is the story of an escaped slave and her family who are visited by the ghost of her daughter 18 years after the girl's death.
If you read the book, should you see the movie when it arrives on video? Yes, Morrison's novel is a tough read and the movie can be considered a visual aid. You'll also enjoy stellar performances by Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise and Beah Richards.
If you see the movie, should you read the book? Absolutely. "Beloved" is a great American novel. It also will help the reader understand Sethe's plight and why she found it necessary to take such violent measures to keep her children out of slavery.
Lost in the translation: The lives of the Sweet Home men were omitted from the movie. And Morrison's extraordinary language, rich symbolism, detailed descriptions and nonlinear style of writing are gone, and instead the plot - not Morrison's forte - takes over.
Picture perfect: The scene in which the church ladies discuss Beloved's appearance, followed by their "March on Sethe's house" to exorcise the ghost was hilarious and Beah Richards was an unforgettable Baby Suggs.
This story includes reporting by Ron Weiskind, Tony Norman, Gail M. Scott and Jim Heinrich.
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