What makes a book’s movie adaptation work? This is purely my opinion, but I think there are two key elements in movie adaptations of books that make them successful. What are they? Accuracy and anchor elements. Today, I will discuss these two elements and why I think they help the transition between books and movies.
Accuracy
If you are a big book fan, you probably have your favorite series, one you read over and over and over again. Each time you love it just as much as before! Within this series, or book, you probably have a favorite character and a favorite scene, maybe more than one. Then one day, you wake up and discover that your favorite book is being adapted into a movie. This is great! Unless they change too much, right? Sometimes what translates in a book doesn’t translate well on screen. For example, it can be challenging in fantasy movies to make someone or something look exactly as everyone has imagined it, especially if the book leaves room for the imagination. Books are designed to spark the imagination; movies are designed to bring the imagined to life.
Because we all have our favorite scenes, not everyone can be satisfied. We all imagine things differently, and some of us are more attached to our imaginations than others. So, what can people do when trying to bring a beloved book to life on the big screen? They can be as accurate to the book as possible. This rule is not steadfast; I’m sure plenty of book adaptations didn’t follow the books exactly and turned out great. But many times, movies that don’t work out seem to be those movies where the writers change entire characters, sometimes just changing how they look or even getting rid of them entirely. But what I think really messes up movie adaptations is when a character’s “vibe” is not right. We all know why this one is hard to put up on screen. The character’s “vibe” is not always attached to one thing that can be seen or heard. Instead, a character’s vibe is often a combination of how the author portrayed the character and what the reader’s imagination creates based on that information. One such character is Mitch Rapp in American Assassin.
Close, But No Cigar
I love spy novels, and Vynce Flynn is one of my favorite spy novelists. When the movie came out, I was hesitant about it. See, for me, the vibe of Mitch Rapp is very particular. I am not even sure how to explain it here. He is a driver with years of experience and a specific protective personality. But his motivations are not usually based on revenge, but rather a sense of duty and an understanding that he can prevent disasters such as those who took his high school sweetheart from him. The movie, from what I remember, actually wasn’t bad. However, as a Mitch Rapp movie, it didn’t quite hit the mark. My main problem with the movie was the portrayal of Mitch Rapp as seeking revenge. I don’t know if it was just me, but it seems that, in the books, while Rapp is capable of a revenge-style retaliation, his motivations seem distinctly lacking in the revenge area until later on. Even later, when he is sufficiently motivated, he chooses to refrain from following through on his desire for revenge due to the moral implications. I think they tried to do this in the movies but didn’t quite get it right. In my opinion, the subtle but important change in his character made him less mysterious and intreguing in the movies. As in the books, he doesn’t join the fight to get revenge. But then again, as mentioned before, some character traits are a figment of the reader’s imagination. Have you read Vince Flynn’s novels? What did you think of the movie?
Anchor Elements
Anchor elements are elements in a story, often physical objects, that anchor the audience emotionally and sometimes geographically. Sometimes, getting these elements right in movies can be challenging because books don’t always clarify their anchor elements. Sometimes they are very subtle, maybe not noticeable until the end of the book, or they are never truly revealed without someone taking a very close look. However, a movie that gets an important anchor element right is The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
I know not everyone liked the movie adaptations of the Chronicles of Narnia, but the lamp and the first time it is shown in the movie, in my opinion, was spot on! The lamp helps plant the viewer’s mind directly into the iconic moment where Lucy finds Narnia. You immediately feel like you are right there with her, and the lamp’s familiarity brings about a nostalgic feeling that takes the audience back to their childhood, into the land of Narnia!
The lamp of Narnia is an excellent anchor element that stands out clearly in both the books and the movies. I recently dove deeper into why this lamp is such a great anchor element in a recent article. Check it out here!
So many books have been adapted into movies, some well and some not. I would love to hear about the books whose movie adaptations you loved! Which is your favorite? Post a comment and let me know!
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