When Books Become Movies... discussion

Are you going to see the movie? What did you think? Post your thoughts here. I'm seeing it tomorrow and I'm really excited. I'll post about it tomorrow.

I thought that it captured the thriller element of the book really well - I've read the book twice and still ended up feeling uneasy throughout. The film is only an hour and a half long, so it felt like the film was just bullet-pointing the main plot points of the book, with nothing bridging the scenes. (view spoiler)[I really liked the casting, and how it plays with audience expectations. Colin Firth has always been cast in kind, friendly roles, and Mark Strong has often been the one playing the bad guy, but this film just shows how versatile some actors can be. (hide spoiler)] Overall, it was a good thriller, and if you haven't read the book, I think that you will really enjoy it. If you have read it, it's still worth seeing just for the cast, but be prepared to be disappointed about the short running time and weak narrative.

Thomas wrote: "I thought that it captured the thriller element of the book really well - I've read the book twice and still ended up feeling uneasy throughout. The film is only an hour and a half long, so it felt..."

Yeah, before I saw it I was apprehensive about Colin Firths casting, because I can't see him as anything but a nice guy. But he played it really well, and I suppose it makes sense with what you said about playing with audience expectations.

So I just saw the film and was a little bit dissapointed. As Thomas said above, I think those who haven't read the book would enjoy it more, because of the suspense of the story, but for those of us who have read it its hard not to focus on the weird and unnecessary changes they've made (why on earth is dr Nash's name spelt Nasche? And since when was his first name mike?). I also thought that the dialogue wasn't too well written and it wasn't directed in the best way. It wasn't seamless, and I felt like I was jumping from scene to scene, everything going too quickly.

Aside from the main cast who gave very strong performances, the dialogue spoken by the supporting cast just sounded too cliche and cheesy. But I didn't think this film was too bad. There was a tense suspenseful feel to the film, and I wouldn't say it was a waste of my money. I like the story, I just personally didn't like some of the technical aspects of the filmmaking, but that didn't take too much away from the story.

MissMangoReads wrote: "And since when was his first name mike?..."

Movie Spoilers:

(view spoiler)[In that scene, where Christine runs out of the car, Dr Nash (Nasch?) says that she was confabulating (making up that he was her attacker because she couldn't actually remember), so if she was trying to picture him as her attacker, she would have thought that his name was Mike because that was the name of her attacker.

I was also wondering why Christine wasn't terrified of Doctor Nash after he drugged her, but I guess if he wanted to kidnap her he would've done it right then. (hide spoiler)]

A lot of the changes didn't make sense, but it suppose were just going to have to accept it, no matter how annoying it is. Why do they do these word things with the movies? Why can't they just make them a little longer to help it make sense?

MissMangoReads wrote: "A lot of the changes didn't make sense, but it suppose were just going to have to accept it, no matter how annoying it is. Why do they do these word things with the movies? Why can't they just make..."

I know what you mean; it frustrates me so much. Most people want a longer film anyway - I paid £10 for a 2D adult ticket, so I wanted a bit more than 90 minutes. It's not like it's a sacrifice, because most people want a film with detail and a decent length.

S.J. Watson has announced a new book coming out in February 2015, called Second Life:



The author has only announced the cover, a release date, and the fact that it's another psychological thriller. Let's hope it's just as good as B4IGTS :)

Ooh, looks interesting. I'll be reading that...