In a vain attempt to keep posting once a week I've decided to post before the weekend to ensure I do actually write something! So earlier, whilst enjoying a lonely albeit sunny train journey on my way to buy an new outfit for a party on Friday, my mum's birthday present and inevitably something I don't need most likely of the make-up variety, I decided it would be a good idea to start writing this post!
The sudden spell of sunny weather today has made me think that perhaps I ought to make the most of it and spend my free time reading instead of watching films. Although, obviously I cannot stop and still watch on average at least five films a week, I feel I need to start reading more too in order to be outside more! So, until I have something to read I have compiled a list of book related films which I love!
One of the best adaptations of a book into a film for me probably has to be Chocolat. The book is written by Joanna Harris and the film stars Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. To anyone who hasn't read or even seen it, it is about a woman who moves to a little provincial town in France and sets up a chocolaterie much to the disgust of the townspeople. Sounds terrible put like that but it's really sweet and I would strongly recommend it; it is probably in my top ten films of all time!
I also need to mention a disastrous adaptation of one of my favourite novels ever. PS I Love You by Cecilia Ahern is a beautiful book. I absolutely love it and it makes me cry every time I read it! However, the film was a huge disappointment. Not only did it totally change a lot of the original story, but it also failed to affect me emotionally at all! The casting was atrocious as well and possibly the main thing wrong with the whole thing! I generally have a problem with accents in films and they nearly always tend to ruin them for me. There are very few films in which there are actors putting on an accent that I would say is faultless. Naturally doing an accent is very difficult and I would say that Irish is particularly hard to get right without sounding like a ridiculous caracticature. Unfortunately, Gerard Butler fails to get the accent right and his performance completely brings down the film. Also, in the case of Hilary Swank, in my mind she couldn't be more wrong for the part. Intensely irritating throughout and what could've been an amazing film turned out to be a massive car crash of a disappointment!
Generally, I think it's quite hard to get an adaptation right and I think few are perfect. It is also difficult not to be over critical of any adaptation if you have read the book as without a shadow of a doubt it will be different to what you pictured and there are very few cases where the film will exceed your expectations.
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