Change is a good thing...maybe?

Greetings, all.

Lately I've been feeling the great conviction as both a book and movie lover, to shed some light on film adaptations, which I think we can all agree are tricky. This is probably due to the fact that I keep running into more and more buzz, news, and speculation on upcoming movies (i.e.- The Great Gatsby), and have also been reading up on some articles on that infamous discussion which will undoubtedly never be resolved--BBC Pride & Prejudice vs Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice (Matthew Macfadyen is my leading man, in case you were wondering).

When discussing something like this which tends to be so controversial and which holds the great potential of the looming threat of people breaking out in passionate argument, there is something you should know about me and my personal opinions: I love books, I love movies, and I don't usually get too ruffled about details that have been skewed, providing that they don't change the entire outcome of the story. I'm the person you were sitting next to in the theater at the midnight premier of the Harry Potter movies who just shrugged and said, "That's not so bad," much to the chagrin of people around me. Although even I, like everyone in this world, have my limits.

Now, that also leads me to point out one of the number one things which I encourage people to keep in mind when it comes to film adaptations of books:

It is never going to be perfect.

Never. There is always going to be something that isn't quite the same, and to that same effect--you can't make everybody happy. Even if a film adaptation is outstanding and nearly perfectly done, there is always going to be somebody who is bent out of shape because that one line wasn't said right, or that one scene was cut off, or because what's-his-name doesn't look the way they imagined. 

Having said all that, in my personal opinion, I feel that good and sometimes even excellent film adaptations are entirely achievable on a general level if these most basic of guidelines are adhered to:

1) Do your best to cast actors and actresses who actually look like the characters they are expected to portray.

    I made this #1 because it generally seems like it doesn't matter what else happens in the rest of the movie--if the leading man or lady makes their grand entrance and they don't look the part, then people are automatically going to be moaning their distress. I stick by what I said earlier when I mentioned that you cannot make everyone happy when you bring a character to life on the big screen. Minor changes are acceptable. However, that doesn't give you license to get "creative" and pick someone who looks nothing like the person they are expected to portray. Daniel Radcliffe has dark brown hair and blue eyes, but he still made a great Harry Potter. On the other hand, I can't even begin to list the cringe-worthy differences between the novel version of Little Women's Professor Bhaer and Gabriel Byrne, no matter how good of an actor he is. And, for the love of all that is holy, please choose someone who is at least somewhere within a 5-yr range of their character (cough*Greer Garson*Pride & Prejudice*cough). On the totally opposite side of the coin, I'd have to say the best on-screen character representation I've seen would have to be Gemma Arterton in Tess of the D'Urbervilles, hands-down.

Such a basic thing to make your target audience happy. So just remember:

TRAVESTY:

BAD:

BETTER:

BEST:

2) Do not change the story.
    You can be forgiven for the occasional line fub, and we won't entirely hold it against you if you mesh some scenes together for times sake. We will probably even overlook a small number of location details, but if these things or anything else are part of an overall equation that leads to a totally and completely different story, then you're condemned.

3) Don't make a character into a person that they are not.
    So, the movie has started and most of the theater is grumbling about the imperfect presence that is the main character but that's all they're doing for now--grumbling, huffing, sighing, etc. I guarantee that will instantly become much more vocal and violent if this impostor opens their mouth and says things in a manner, tone of voice, or with such facial expressions that it gives them a different personality than what was originally insinuated or intended in the book. I just hate to add fuel to the fire here, but my case in point would be Colin Firth's Darcy vs Matthew Macfadyen's Darcy. Entirely setting aside the fact that I think MM is McDreamy, the main reason I approve of him over CF is because he actually portrays some emotion towards the end of the movie, which is what happens in the book the last time I checked. Honestly, CF is too stiff and you can never discern any of the discomfort or emotion or love for Elizabeth that should be there--not even by the final scene.

FITZWILLIAM DARCY:

FAKEWILLIAM FARCEY:

4) Don't eliminate the entire ending of the story.
    I'm not talking about changing the outcome, as mentioned above. I'm talking about completely and totally cutting it out, like it never happened. When the 2011 version of Jane Eyre came out, I was excited to see it because I really enjoy the book. I went to see it, and the imagery was beautiful! The characters were okay. Overall, I was thinking, "You know, this is a pretty okay film adaptation. I might even watch it again." And then what happens?Nothing. It just ends....and not where it is supposed to. It doesn't show the proper ending of the story which is the whole point of the story. Never watching that one again.

Cute but not good enough. Shame on you, Cary Joji Fukunaga.

Those are the main and most basic rules I have on the list, however even I must admit there are some adaptations that will probably fail even if they do follow the rules (which are not more like guidelines). Unfortunately my main example of this would be the 2013 adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Naturally, as I'm sure you would probably guess, I love the book. I think it is an interesting and sad story that is told through amazing verbal images of life as the elite in the 1920s. Unfortunately, most people don't realize that film adaptations of that story have already been done and they were not at all successful. Every once in a while you just run across a story that is wonderful in book form, but it just does not translate on the big screen. Besides The Great Gatsby, another example would be The Portrait of a Lady.

So, to be honest, I guess the main point of this was just a rant that led up to the fact that I will probably just watch The Great Gatsby from Redbox in the comfort of my home if I choose to invest in viewing it at all. And to say that Matthew Macfadyen wins.Always.

The Snake Pit

Fall of '48 post #7

The Snake Pit

November 4, 1948

Starring Olivia de Havilland, Leo Genn, Mark Stevens, and Betsy Blair

Juniper Hill State Hospital is a large ward for mental patients. One of it's patients, Virginia Cunningham (de Havilland), originally comes from a wealthy background. She has a loving husband and a lovely home, but she was sent to the mental institution supposedly for schizophrenia. She hears voices, and eventually gets so that she cannot keep track of reality, so she is sent to Juniper Hill for safety and healing.

When she is first admitted, Virginia is so lost that she does not even know who her own husband, Robert (Stevens) is. Virginia's doctor, Dr. Mark Kik (Genn), works with her to try and bring to light what it is that unhinges her. Through the use of shock therapy, and hypnotherapy among other things, they begin to make good progress. She tells him about traumatic events from her childhood, a previous failed engagement, and about how she met her husband.

The hospital is split into 12 different wards, Ward 1 being the best and 12 being the worst. Dr. Kik manages to get Virginia a place in Ward 1, believing that as she continues to progress, it would be beneficial for her to be away from less critical patients. Virginia undoubtedly would have continued to improve even more, but one of the nurses in the new ward believes that Dr. Kik coddles her too much, so she is very strict, harsh, and even brutal towards Virginia. Eventually she torments Virginia so much that Virginia has a breakdown and is sent away from Ward 1 in a straight jacket. Dr. Kik hears what happens and knows that unless she is given special attention very soon, Virginia will have a full setback, so he begins to work with her more extensively again. Virginia improves once more, but she is now in the 12th Ward, and she knows she has a lot of work ahead of her still. In order to leave the hospital, she has to have a full interview in order to be sure that it is safe to release her. When Virginia gets to the point where going home becomes a possibility, she is terrified that she will have a relapse and that she will not be able to leave. In the end, her husband Robert comes to take her home, and she is successfully discharged.

The Snake Pit was a film adaptation of a novel of the same name by successful author Mary Jane Ward. The story was allegedly written by Ward as a commentary on the state of psychiatric facilities at the time, urging for reform. The 1948 film was a delicate masterpiece. Olivia de Havilland portrayed Virginia Cunningham, a character which was the polar opposite of the roles she was usually cast in. But de Havilland's hard work payed off, because the film was very well received. The film won the Academy Award for Best Sound Recording and was nominated for Best Picture and Best Writing Adapted Screenplay; de Havilland, who had already won an Academy Award the previous year, was also nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

"It was strange, here I was among all those people, and at the same time I felt as if I were looking at them from some place far away, the whole place seemed to me like a deep hole and the people down in it like strange animals, like...like snakes, and I've been thrown into it...yes...as though...as though I were in a snake pit..."

-Virginia Cunningham, The Snake Pit

"Remember me as a man who loves Raintree County,but just happens to loathe most of the people in it."

Welcome to Think Classic and post #4 for Fall of '48!

Ross Lockridge, Jr.

Born April 25, 1914

Died March 6, 1948

Ross Franklin Lockridge, Jr. was born on the twenty-fifth of April, 1914.  History notes nothing exceptional about his upbringing until his college years. He attended Indiana University, and when he graduated in the year of 1935 it was with the highest average in the history of the university.

Lockridge dabbled in creative writing and desired to produce something noteworthy--something important. He finally finished his only novel, Raintree County, and it was published in 1948.

Unfortunately, even as his career as a successful writer was just beginning to blossom, Lockridge, who suffered from severe depression, committed suicide very shortly after Raintree County's publication. He was only 33 years old, and left behind his wife and 4 children.

Raintree County

1948 novel

by Ross Lockridge, Jr.

The novel revolves around a man by the name of John Shawnessy, who resides in (fictional) Raintree County, Indiana. The story is uniquely told through reminiscings, memories, flashbacks, and dreams of John, which take place over many years and give the reader a depiction of the growth of Raintree County through westward expansion,  the Civil War and it's impacts and consequences, abolitionism, and the Labor Movement. In the beginning of the story, John is very much involved with his old high school flame, Nell Gaither. Then, a breathtakingly beautiful southern belle by the name of Susanna Drake moves into the area. Susanna seduces John and they have an affair. At the end of the summer, Susanna goes back to the south, and John attempts to return to normal and pick up where he left off with Nell, who is hurt by his previous actions but is willing to make it work, until John learns that Susanna is pregnant. John decides that the only right and honorable thing to do is marry Susanna and provide support, so he leaves Nell to go south and start his life with Susanna.

Life is much more difficult in the south. John is an outspoken, northern abolitionist, so he has a hard time finding common ground with most of the wealthy plantation owners in the area. He also learns over time that his wife had an extremely troubled past, and not only that, but that Susanna herself is mad. She confesses to John that she lied about being pregnant just so that she could ensure they would end up together. Eventually they do have a child, however. They return north and live in Raintree County just before the Civil War breaks out. As time goes on, Susanna's mental illness worsens and she begins to imagine things, becoming delusional and paranoid. She eventually runs away with their son, Jimmy, believing that she will find a safer life for them if she returns to the south. John is heartbroken and determined to find them, but traveling is dangerous those days. He therefore enlists in the Army, hoping that he can at least learn what happened to them and where they are as he travels various southern routes. After a while he finds their son, Jimmy, but he is alone. He discovers that Susanna has been taken and placed in an insane asylum. While trying to take his son to safety, John is wounded, and it leads to his discharge from the Army, which enables him to go and find Susanna. When he does, he is horrified at the conditions of the asylum and he arranges to take her home with him.

Things do not return to normal, however. John does his best to establish a safe and normal life for his family again, but Susanna is never right after that. When the political atmosphere takes a turn as the Civil War comes to a close, John begins to contemplate running for office, but he does not know for sure what he should do. He consults Nell, who is still living in Raintree County, and she is completely supportive. Susanna sees them interact and she accepts the fact that John only married her because of circumstance, and that he will always truly love Nell, even if he won't admit it. So, wishing to give them a chance at a happy life together, Susanna goes to a swamp in the middle of the night and drowns herself. Jimmy follows her, and the town frantically searches for the two of them the next day. Eventually they find Susanna's body and they discover that Jimmy is safe--alone and scared in the night, he had found solid ground under a tree and fallen asleep.

Raintree County was warmly received, and highly praised by critics. It is, to this day, considered by many to be a great, historical American novel.

A film adaptation was produced by MGM, starring Montgomery Clift as John Shawnessy, Elizabeth Taylor as Susana Drake, and Eva Marie Saint as Nell Gaither.

The film was released in 1957--almost 10 years after the publication of the novel. It was a massive and costly production--the most expensive MGM production since Gone With the Wind (1936).