Re-Imaginations

With more and more of our favorite books being re-imagined as movies, I completely understand the fears and protestations of most on the subject - they'll never capture the magic of the book, they will ultimately disappoint, and they might even piss off their authors. So why create a film based on a beloved book?

For me, the question has always been, "Why not?"

Perhaps I am in the minority, but even as an avid reader and a LOVER of books (seriously, they are my babies. I love them so much. In fact, if you added up the value of the books on my many bookshelves, well... you just might be able to afford a down payment on a car. I am not kidding - I have waaaay too many books), I anticipate the opening of a movie in spite of those fears.

When I read, my imagination takes me to the world described in the story. I imagine the faces, the clothing, and the mannerisms of the characters. I build their domiciles in my head. Every little detail - all that is revealed to me by the author, as well as things of my own creation - are there.

I don't care that someone else (a director, producer, actor... whatever) might have a completely different idea. I don't care because I feel that I am just so darn lucky to see this story on the big screen. I am excited to witness this retelling. I don't care if the film isn't as I had imagined the book because IT'S A FILM. IT'S NOT THE BOOK.

I don't care if the film completely mangles the storyline or moves the setting across the country because that story? That setting? Are set in my mind forever. They cannot be compromised. If bad, I still have the book. If I end up loving the movie? Well then, I am the luckiest girl in the world.

(P.S. Could I be a bigger nerd?)

How many versions of Pride and Prejudice have you seen? I've only seen one - the A&E miniseries starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. I LOVE this version. But my dad, my viewing buddy, swears on the Olivier version. And then there is the new Keira Knightley version, which garnered her a Best Actress Oscar nomination. That, and the Olivier version, are in my Netflix queue. I can't wait to compare!

Mr. Darcy is so dreamy.

What I'm getting at is that it just doesn't matter how many times a book is re-imagined as a film - the book will forever be the point of reference. The book remains the pristine original, no matter how many times it is told - and retold - on the screen.

So. Here are some adaptations that I've been anticipating for months:

Feast of Love
I read The Feast of Love years ago when it arrived on my doorstep after I forgot to cancel my monthly book club selection. My forgetfulness paid off. Written by a former English professor at the University of Michigan, Charles Baxter, it's a charming, uplifting tale of... love. The reader follows several very different characters around Ann Arbor, Michigan, and watches as their lives intersect. I laughed, I cried, I grieved, and I rejoiced. It really is an amazing tale.

Feast of Love opened in the U.S. this weekend, and I don't know that I will see it in the theater - it seems more like a Netflix kind of film - but I will see it. From the trailer, I realized that the setting was changed from Ann Arbor to Oregon, a switch that the author approved. I'm guessing that it had something to do with money, and that's fine. As long as the characters remain intact, I think that it should be a great adaptation. I'm not really sure why the "The" was dropped from the title, but I'm betting that those movie executives probably know what they're doing.

Atonement
I don't remember where or when I read this novel, but I will never forget the story, the characters, or the absolutely superb writing. It was positively illuminating.

The film opens in the U.S. on December 7, and the trailer took my breath away. It is EXACTLY as I imagined these characters, these sets, and the story in my mind, and I cannot believe how excited I am to sit in that theater. (And since it's already opened in the U.K., I just might see it when I am there in November...)

The Golden Compass
I really must urge you all to join my book club, because this book (the first of the His Dark Materials trilogy) was recommended by its editors along with almost every amazing book I've read in the past five years. Compass follows the adventure of Lyra, a young girl living in a parallel universe to ours. The books challenge our ideas of the human soul, religion, original sin, and the consequences of uncontrolled power. Can you believe that these are considered children's books?

I was excited to hear about this film, which also opens on December 7, from the first stirrings, but when I heard about the amazing casting coup of Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and Eva Green, it cemented my ticket pre-order for opening night. In my opinion, these actors are perfectly cast. Perfectly. Plus, it seems that New Line is planning on investing an immense amount of time and money into this trilogy, making it their next Lord of the Rings.

And just because we're talking about movies here, I am SO PUMPED to see El Orfanato (The Orphanage).


It's being lauded as the scariest horror film in years, but without the gorefest that has permeated "horror" flicks of late. It's being compared to The Others* and The Sixth Sense. With a mastermind like Guillermo del Toro involved (ohmygosh see Pan's Labyrinth if you haven't yet), I can't imagine how this could be bad. The buzz for El Orfanato is already extremely positive and it was the talk of the town at Cannes. It releases in late December, and you can bet that I will be there on opening night. The trailer is fine, but read the reviews for creepier information.

*The Others holds a rare distinction in that it was one of the few movies to make me scream out loud - and we're not talking some wussy, girly scream. This was a visceral, guttural scream that left my throat sore. And without giving anything away, I screamed at a pivotal point in the film and then screamed again while watching that same scene in the EXTRAS on the dvd. I knew that it was coming and I screamed again.