At the Golden Globes, the best films are adaptations

It is something I have long supposed, and since starting this blog have become convinced of: The very best source material for a film, is a novel.

When the story is first dreamed up by an author, and diligently transcribed to their page, the filmmakers are left with a special gift of plots and characters that are so defined, so certain, that the audiences are able to become completely immersed within them.

And it’s not just me that thinks so… The highly competitive ‘Drama’ categories of the 2012 Golden Globe Awards are dominated by adaptations of literary sources.

Best Motion Picture – Drama (5/6 nominated films are literary adaptations)

The Descendants

The Help

Hugo

Moneyball

War Horse

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama (4/5 nominees recognised for their performances in film adaptations)

Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis – The Help

Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (2/5 nominees recognised for their performances in film adaptations)

George Clooney – The Descendants

Brad Pitt – Moneyball

The presentation of the 69^th Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place on Sunday 15^th January 2012.




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Adapted films dominate awards

Mixed Reviews: Sherlock Holmes 2

I have to say, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows impressed me. The mystery was a little hard to follow, and the resurfacing of Rachel McAdams’ character was too brief – but in all, it was a very enjoyable film. It was fast-paced; there were loads of laughs; and Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law had a dynamic chemistry. In particular, I found the suspended motion sequences to be an extremely clever (and visually interesting) way of progressing the story whilst at the same time demonstrating the pace of Sherlock’s mind.

But what do I know? Let’s see what the reviewers had to say.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, 59% of reviewers have so far given the film a positive rating. Of the audience share, 80% have liked it.

Louise Keller from Urban Cinefile said:

“Eating hedgehog goulash, a bride thrown off a train, Sherlock Holmes disguised as a chair and a naked Stephen Fry are some of the incongruous moments of Guy Ritchie's sequel which again has little to do with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's characters.”

Matt Neal of The Standard said:

“Source fidelity aside, the thing that really matters is that Ritchie's re-interpretation is exciting, witty and great fun.”

Mark Jenkins from the Washington Post said:

“It's a modest improvement on bad-boy director Guy Ritchie's first tweaking of Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective.”

Peter Travers from Rolling Stone said:

“In an act of criminal negligence, Ritchie has wasted Robert Downey Jr. in a sequel that eliminates smarts in favor of relentless headbanging.”

My previous posts on this movie:

What's in a name: A lot when it comes to Sherlock Holmes

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The casting quandary #2

One of the biggest sources of contention for fans, when their favourite books are adapted to film, is whether the cast lives up to their expectations.

Does the main character suit the author’s description? Is the lead man everything that you imagined him to be?

For female characters, the hair colour of the actress can be a very specific choice – either to keep in line with the book, or to deliberately stray from it.

Meggie Cleary, the heroine of Colleen McCullough’s epic tale The Thorn Birds (1977) is described in the novel as having hair that is “not red and not gold, but somewhere in between.” In the iconic scene where Meggie enters the ballroom and enchants Ralph with her ashes-of-roses gown embroidered with tiny pink rosebuds, her hair had recently been cut short which caused it to “curl far too much for fashion.”

 

Sydney Penny as a young Meggie Cleary (1983)

Rachel Ward as Meggie Cleary (1983)

The hair colour of Daisy Buchanan, the one true love of The Great Gatsby, is much disputed. In the book, F Scott Fitzgerald describes her tresses in contradictory ways – either as dark as a "dash of blue paint," or light like her daughter’s “yellowy” hair.

Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan (2012)

Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan (1974)

The character of Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine of Pride and Prejudice (1813), is another source of contention in the hair department – because Jane Austen never actually describes its colour. However the common belief is that Elizabeth has dark hair, which would suit her fine dark eyes and tanned skin.

Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet (1995)

Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet (2005)

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The casting quandary #1
One superlative song, existence the price: A review of The Thorn Birds
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Stephen Chbosky brings his own book to the big screen

Stephen Chbosky on the set with Emma Watson and Logan Lerman

When a novel is adapted to film, it is usually a mixed blessing for the author – they can reap the benefits of their work being exposed to new audiences, but in doing so they must give up any control over the new form that their art will take.

This is not is the case for Stephen Chbosky, the author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The novel is being adapted to the big screen, but Chbosky is the man at the helm – as both screenwriter and director.

Stephen Chbosky is one of the rare few authors who have sufficient skills to straddle between the worlds of bestselling literature and commercial feature films.

In 1992 he graduated from the University of Southern California's screenwriting program and throughout his career has written and directed a number of screenplays, including the 1995 independent film The Four Corners of Nowhere and the 2005 film adaptation of the Broadway rock musical Rent. He was also behind the film adaptation of Michael Chabon's novel The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and served as co-creator, executive producer, and writer of the CBS serial television drama Jericho.

In 1994 Chbosky began writing The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The film, starring Emma Watson, Ezra Miller and Logan Lerman, will be released in 2012.