5 Actually Well-Made Book-to-Movie Adaptations

Film adaptations of books are not new- they have existed since the early stages of filmmaking. For filmmakers all over the world, books, or even short stories, represent infinitely valuable sources of inspiration. In addition to offering an already well-crafted storyline, books allow filmmakers to explore their creativity by translating imaginary worlds into visual mediums. Not only does the process of adapting a book to a movie offer a great source of inspiration, but in most cases, it also attracts an already present audience from the original book readers, allowing the movie to reach even more people. Obviously, this is a two-way road: film adaptations also create more engagement with the book that has been adapted as they expose a wider audience to the original story. The phenomenon also represents an engaging experience for the viewers: watching a movie based on a book we had previously read is an exciting experience that often defies our expectations, sometimes leading to good surprises and other times, unfortunately resulting in disappointments. This can also be experienced backwards: we sometimes like a movie so much that we decide to read the book. While this might not be the best way to enjoy a book as we already know of most of the story, it allows us to explore the book with an already acquired sense of the physical world of the story while diving deeply into the characters minds and the core of the story- often times with more depth than through the film. Although undeniably bad adaptations of books exist, this list will demonstrate that there are also a number of really well-made ones. 

American Psycho 

American Psycho is a 1991 novel written by Bret Easton Ellis. The story is narrated by the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, Manhattan investment banker and a serial killer. While praised for its “transgressive and postmodern qualities” by some critics, most were shocked by its violent, women-hating content; some countries even found it so potentially disturbing that they decided that it could only be sold shrink-wrapped. The book offers a deep critique of the vicious aspects of our superficial capitalist society, mainly explored through the eyes of Bateman, who has been interpreted as a monster created by consumer culture and postmodern media. The book was adapted in 2000 and was co-written and directed by feminist director Mary Harron. As Harron was inspired by the satirical nature of the book and conscious of the large criticism the book received for its violence against women, she decided to make creative decisions that would project a female influence onto this adaption. For instance, the film changes the focus from being solely explored through Bateman's perspective to highlight the experiences of women. The film also feels a lot more satirical and comic than the considerably more melancholy and violent book. Another element that reinforces the success of this amazing adaptation is the fact that the movie was able to sustain the ambiguity of the book while maintaining the main messages and thematic elements exposed in the original novel.

The Virgin Suicides

The Virgin Suicides is a 1993 fictional novel written by the American author Jeffrey Eugenides. The story is set in the 1970s and depicts the lives of five sisters. The novel is written from the perspective of an anonymous group of teenage boys who decide to explore possible explanations for the Lisbons' deaths. The novel therefore relies entirely on the male gaze. While some criticize the book for its romanticism of dead white girls, Manic Pixie Dream Girls and hyper-sexualized teenagers, others realize that this male gaze isn’t solely a structural element of the book but rather its subject: it critiques the way men look at women. The book was adapted in 1999 and the American drama film was written and directed by Sofia Coppola, co-produced by Francis Ford Coppola. The film received very positive critical response and was praised for both the performances and Coppola's direction, especially her lyrical and visual representation of adolescence.The cult classic represents one of the most fluid and natural translations from book to film, perfectly capturing the essence of the story with unmatched realism and beauty. Along with its unbelievably colourful visuals that successfully recreate that 1970s feeling, the film also manages to stay faithful to the book in terms of the dialogue, structure and point of view. Coppola kept some of the smallest details of the story which revealed themselves to be ultimately essential to this adaptation. I think that the film was also able to reduce these ideas of voyeurism and male gaze which made it significantly more easy to appreciate. 

Fight Club

Fight Club is a 1996 novel written by the American journalist Chuck Palahniuk. The novel follows the life of an unnamed protagonist, who, suffering from insomnia, decides to start attending a variety of support groups meetings. He then meets a soapmaker named Tyler Durden and establishes an underground fighting club. While Palahniuk simply states that all his books “are about a lonely person looking for some way to connect with other people”, many critics noted the underlying themes embedded in the foundations of the novel. Exploring masculinity and consumer culture through satire, Palahniuk’s book is mainly aimed at a male audience. The film unsurprisingly fails in its female representation: the only woman in the film, Marla, is oversexualized and emotionally neglected, which tells us a lot about the perception of gender in modern society. The film, adapted by  David Fincher in 1999, appealed to a lot of men not because of its inherent violence and anarchic chaos, but also through its exploration of the existential dread of having everything you’ve been told that you should want and still feeling empty. The film managed to change a lot of details from the book, from Marla’s character to the ending of the film, while still flawlessly translating the core themes of the novel to the screen. However, the film also retains elements from the original story that constitute structural or thematic flaws, for instance the misinterpretation and valorization of Tyler or the one-dimensional representation of Manic Pixie Dream Girl Marla. 

Trainspotting

Trainspotting is Scottish writer Irvine Welsh’s debut novel, published in 1993. The novel is a collection of short stories revolving around various residents of Leith, Edinburgh in the late 1980s. They either used heroin, were friends with the heroin users, or engaged in destructive activities. The Sunday Times described the book as "the voice of punk, grown up, grown wiser and grown eloquent". The film raises important questions about the nature of addiction, for instance what causes addiction and whether someone should be responsible for actions driven by addiction. Unlike many movies and shows that explore this subject, Trainspotting avoids glamorizing drug use at all and conversely exposes the terrible living conditions that often come with addiction. The film adaptation was released in 1996 and was directed by Danny Boyle. It was a critical success, praised for its raw and sympathetic portrayal of addicts and, more recently, for its ability to capture the feelings of the mid 90s without becoming dated as most youth culture movies often do. One difference from the book that I think really made the film stand out was the fact that the film’s plot is linear, unlike the original novel where characters would often be introduced without backstory or obvious connection to the central group in the story. This allowed for the film to flow naturally without any confusion, enabling it to place more focus on the main messages of the story. 

10 Things I Hate About You

The screenplay of 10 Things I Hate About You is a modernization of William Shakespeare's late-16th-century comedy The Taming of the Shrew. While more loosely based on the play than a strict adaptation, the film deals with the same issue of unreciprocated love, only in a 1999 high school setting. Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is set in Padua, Italy, and follows the noble lady Katherina Minola who, because of her harsh character, everyone believes will never get married. Her sister, who is nothing like her, is not allowed to get married until Katherina does the same, as ordered by their father. While there is no mention of suitors and marriage in the film but rather parties and boyfriends, the core plot manages to stay intact, highlighting the fact that William Shakespeare's writings are timeless and universal. The 1999 adaptation was a massive box office success, as well as receiving positive critical response, with critics praising the film for its ability to go beyond the stereotypical high school movie. While the film managed to modernize and considerably erase some of the misogynistic aspects of the original play (i.e. the “taming” of Katherine by her husband), some argue that the film still holds sexists elements, such as the dad’s strict rules around dating and the way Patrick is paid to take Kat out, while also employing the use of reductive tropes like the bad boy, the pretty boy, the AV nerd, the popular girl, etc. However, these elements are counterbalanced by the film’s representation of a more nuanced relationship between Kat and Bianca, as well as the complexity it added to its main female character that the original play doesn’t offer.