By Jennie
The film version of Eat, Pray, Love, starring Julia Roberts, came out yesterday. The Elizabeth Gilbert book was a bestseller, remaining on the New York Times bestseller list for years after its publication. As such, no doubt there are many devoted fans who will flock to the theaters hoping to recreate the special experience they had reading the book. But is that possible?
(I should say, as an aside, that I read Eat, Pray, Love a couple of years ago and liked it but didn’t love it. I don’t plan to see the movie; I’ve gotten tired of Julia Roberts over the years. Though I loved her in Mystic Pizza and Erin Brockovich, her sour performances in Ocean’s 11 and Closer turned me off, and I feel like she’ll accentuate some of Gilbert’s most unattractive traits as portrayed in the book.)
I am very wary of film adaptions of favorite books. In my experience, the more one likes a book, the less likely a film version is to work for them. The relationship a reader has to a favorite book is complicated and can be intense; it’s not unusual to feel proprietary about the story and the characters.
So it’s easy to get one’s nose out of joint about what one sees as miscasting, for instance. I read the A.S. Byatt book Possession years ago, and really liked it. I ended up seeing the film version when it came out in theaters with a bunch of people who had not read the book. They all liked the movie, but I could not get over – still cannot get over – how miscast Aaron Eckhart was in one of the main roles. Grr, it still makes me mad. The movie was ruined for me (despite being generally a good movie), and I can’t stand Aaron Eckhart as an actor, now. And this wasn’t even one of my favorite books – just one I liked.
Readers will also carp about plot changes and plot points/storylines being left out of films. I know that there are dedicated Harry Potter fans who pick apart the films and complain about important storylines and characters being left out. The fact is, it’s hard to condense an 800-page book into a film, even one running two and a half hours long, as some of the Harry Potter films have. There’s a reason that both the last Harry Potter book and the last Twilight book are being split into two films. (Well, besides the obvious reason – both franchises are cash cows for the studios that produce them.)
(I do think that Twilight fans, from what I’ve seen, are a little less critical of the film franchise – perhaps because they are largely tweens enamored of Robert Pattinson and/or Taylor Lautner. Or maybe – and this goes for Harry Potter, too – the fact that it’s a series rather than a single film based on a single book allows fans to get invested in the film version of the characters and story on their own, independent of the books.)
My general rule when I’m interested in a book and film and haven’t read or seen either yet is this – see the movie first. I’ve never had a book ruin a movie for me, but movies can…well, not exactly ruin books for me, but sour me on a book I loved, at least to the point where I can’t think of the book without thinking about what I disliked about the movie.
How about you? Do you have any book-to-movie horror stories? Any really good experiences? Or are you able to separate the book from the film and view each as a separate entity?
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14 Responses to From Page to Screen
I saw Eat Pray Love last night and was going to write a review on it, but I’m glad you wrote this first. I didn’t read the book, however I’m somewhat familiar with what it’s about (I think it’s become part of our pop-culture. Thanks Oprah!)
While I liked the movie, I couldn’t get past the whining self-centeredness of the character. Too much I I I ME ME ME. The scenery is gorgeous and I get going on a spiritual journey and all that. But she (Liz) came across as really immature and totally insensitive to other’s feelings. The whole “I love you but I can’t be with you any more because I’m not being the real me” just seems like a new version of “it’s not you, it’s me”. And just dropping out of your life, friends and family to take a year to “find yourself”? I guess it just seems extravagant and self-indulgent. It’s a great fantasy. But she actually really did this, and I can’t get my head around that.
And I totally agree with seeing the movie and THEN reading the book. For the exact same reasons. (I’m a total Twilight and Harry Potter fan – much more of the books than the movies. But I still see all the movies!)
Great post, Jennie!
I will have to put some more thought into this because I know I have been disappointed in the past but right now the names of the books and movies elude me.
I will say that a good movie almost always inspires me to read the book and if not the book to get on the computer and research information about it. Especially if it is a true story.
I have not read Eat, Pray, Love but I saw enough of the author promoting the book on the media circuit that I thought I knew the storyline and ending well enough. Probably will catch the movie on Netflix.
Tiffany, hope you still do a review. Did you bring your oldest daughter?
Just so you know, there was a lot of I I I ME ME ME in the book too!
I liked the title of this review of the movie (from Jezebel.com):
“I Will Eat, Pray, And Love At Home, Thank You Very Much.”
Kind of off-topic, but I wonder how people who are struggling financially will react to the character prancing all over the globe “to find herself.” I found it mildly annoying a few years back and that was in better economic times and I am lucky enough to have a job. (Of course, that is another reason – besides the $$$ — I couldn’t embark on such an adventure).
Great post! I have been disappointed by the movies vs. the books many times. You would think I would get used to it, since film can rarely capture all the nuances a book carries. It’s usually something I felt was important to one of the characters that they just leave out.
I remember the movie Not Without My Daughter being a big disappointment. I found the book to be incredibly interesting. As well, as the plight of Betty Mahmoody being trapped in Iran by her husband, I enjoyed the insights into Iran’s culture. The movie had little of that. IRL, she and her daughter escaped w/smugglers over the snowy mountains into Turkey. The last part being on horseback and then her smugglers had to carry her the last bit of the way. The movie did not capture what they went through as it was depicted as her having to face a desert instead.
The Godfather wasn’t a disappointment. I loved all the detailed writing but the movie was great even w/what they had to leave out. I believe the characters in the movie portrayed themselves as they were depicted in the book
Tiffany, yes please do your review.
Btw, not a big Julia Robers fan here. There’s a couple of movies I thought were okay, but I don’t care for her acting style.
I read the book and thought it was okay. Sort of overratted but that’s probably because I couldn’t identify with the character. I’m all for women doing things for themselves but I thought it was a bit much. I’m not really interested in seeing the movie. And I agree that it is better to see a movie based on a book first then read the book. I’ve often been disappointed by movie versions of books.
I also thought the extravagance of Sex and the City would rub people the wrong way in these economic times. I mean, what average Sex and the City fan has two apartments in New York, eats out every night and spends crazy amounts of money on shoes and bags? I haven’t seen Eat, Pray, Love but I think it will be the same way.
I’ll try to get the movie review done. I just got to Disneyland with my two youngest, so it might be a few days!
I did enjoy Sex and the City 2, but that was pure fantasy. Those aren’t supposed to be “real” women, so I thought it was fine to sort of live vicariously through them. The more outrageous the better, really. Elizabeth Gilbert is a real person and this is what she really did. THAT is my problem, I guess. And because she wrote the book and I believe approved the script, then she was probably even MORE self-centered than what was written/shown. I just can’t get on board with that.
I mean, sure I’d love to drop everything and just take off for a year. That would be great. For me. What about everyone I love. What about my family and friends (not to mention kids, but I know she didn’t have that concern.)
Of course, I’m currently “finding myself” at Disneyland! Maybe I’ll have an epiphany on Pirates of the Caribbean!
My biggest disappointment with the book to movie transition was “My Sister’s Keeper.” They changed the end of the story so significantly that everything the author was trying to communicate with her story was lost. The book was not ruined for me but I hated the movie.
Another book to movie transition that I found lacking was “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” But I expect that may have been to the difficulty of boiling it down to 90+ mins.
I am so glad to hear that others found the Eat, Pray, Love main character self-centered. I had trouble caring what she did. I stopped reading the book 1/4 of the way through. Is it a memoir? Not fiction? I hope not.
I also loved Julia Roberts in Mystic Pizza and Erin Brokavich, and thought Ocean’s 11 was just a smug group of egotistic actors (who I liked in other movies!)
I almost always agree that seeing the movie first is better than reading the book first. We put so much more of ourselves into a book. Old-fashioned, I know, but I loved Gone With the Wind (the movie) but when I read the book I realized how inadequate the movie was. So few of the adaptations of Jane Austen’s books end up satisfying me, though the PBS Masterpiece series last year and A&E’s version of Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth) were great. Hollywood version of Austen are the pits. Nicole Kidman ruined Cold Mountain (She was too old!!!) for me despite Jude Law and Renee Zellweger’s excellent acting. Speaking of Renee Z., I thought she was fabulous in Bridgett Jone’s Diary. I heard British fans of the book were disappointed. Fortunately for me, I read the book second, and had no trouble accepting seeing her in the role (and Colin Firth, once again, as Mr. Darcy! Very good casting.)
Tiffany, have fun! I’m jealous. I love Pirates of the Caribbean.
Tiffany, enjoy the stay! Hope you all have a blast.
Now, I’m humming “when you wish upon a star”
Of course, I’m currently “finding myself” at Disneyland! Maybe I’ll have an epiphany on Pirates of the Caribbean!
Tiffany, have fun! I LOVE Disneyland!
Another book to movie transition that I found lacking was “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” But I expect that may have been to the difficulty of boiling it down to 90+ mins.
I loved that book and haven’t even bothered to see the movie. I actually don’t think the casting is that bad (especially McAdams; I think I pictured someone a little less alpha-male and more boho for Henry), but I just doubt the ability of anyone involved to translate what was special about the book into a film. It just doesn’t seem possible.
I am so glad to hear that others found the Eat, Pray, Love main character self-centered. I had trouble caring what she did. I stopped reading the book 1/4 of the way through. Is it a memoir? Not fiction? I hope not.
I seem to recall thinking that she (and the book) had moments of insight but the book was so full of navel-gazing and what I’ve heard called “first world problems” that it made her hard to like. I do think it’s considered a memoir though I believe she embarked on the trip with the idea of writing about it, which makes the whole “spiritual journey” angle feel a bit forced.
I also loved Julia Roberts in Mystic Pizza and Erin Brokavich, and thought Ocean’s 11 was just a smug group of egotistic actors (who I liked in other movies!)
I liked the guys (especially Damon, Pitt and Clooney), but Roberts’ character in the first film was really sour and unattractive, and I didn’t understand Clooney and Garcia (two fiiine men) fighting over her. When Roberts plays serious, brittle characters, I find her so unappealing.
I always think twice before seeing a movie based on a book. I know I will be disappointed if they change any part of the movie significantly. Three movies that differed from the book were ” The Firm”, A Simple Plan” (one of the most underrated books and movies ever made in my opinion) and “The Informant”. They changed the endings from the book so much I left the theater angry. The Informant was changed from a serious drama in the book to a comedy in the movie that mocked the seriousness of the subject.
I will still read books and go to movies but I wish they would leave the spirit of the book alone.
I purchased the book ‘eat, pray, love’ because I wanted to hear the story and knew I’d never see the movie. (I have RLS and sitting through a movie, even at home is virtually impossible for me any more). I did enjoy the book and am actually glad I won’t be seeing the movie because in my experience they leave so much out of book-to-movie movies that you lose too much and this story has so much to tell. I personally was not turned off by the fact that it was all about her as I was expecting a story about one person’s personal journey and that’s the story that was told in my opinion.
I haven’t read the book or seen the movie yet.
I’m glad I read the opinions here, I will try to lower my expections to avoid being disappointed.