Book adaptations
It is a common lament – “The movie wasn’t half as good as the book”. And, in many cases, it is an assessment that is absolutely right. Film-makers often don’t have a prayer of being able to condense a complex novel into a couple of hours of screentime and sometimes make a complete hash of it (The Goldfinch anyone?). However, there are also plenty of examples of a book’s essence being successfully distilled and, occasionally, the adapters improving on it. We’ve trawled through Netflix’s current catalogue, trying to defy its algorithms in the process, to come up with a list of six superb takes on much-loved literary tomes.
The Irishman (2019)
Martin Scorsese’s magnificent mafioso magnum opus might clock in at a potentially bum-numbing 209 minutes, but it’s well worth the effort. Based on Charles Brandt’s 2004 book I Hear You Paint Houses, it follows Robert De Niro’s Frank Sheeran, from his early days delivering carcasses, through his reputation for creating them, to his latter-day regrets. Fans of the director’s previous gangster epics, Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Casino, will lap up the sights, sounds, tempting-looking dishes, salty language and crazy nicknames.
Jurassic Park (1993)
The movie that launched multiplexes in New Zealand, this visualisation of Michael Crichton’s “what if?” 1990 novel dropped the jaws of many moviegoers with its depiction of a theme park that had successfully brought dinosaurs back to life. Of course, in Steven Spielberg’s hands, the film became a rollercoaster ride of emotions as Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern and more battled to stay alive as the exhibits took over their surroundings. The imagery (and legacy) of this movie still continues to resonate 30 years on.
Mudbound (2017)
Based on Hillary Jordan’s 2008 novel, director Dee Rees’ drama is a tale of two families battling to survive in rural Mississippi around the time of World War II. A sumptuously shot tear-jerker that is terrifically paced and wonderfully acted (the cast includes Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke and Mary J. Blige), it is a movie filled with memorable imagery, an atmospheric soundtrack and some truly
jaw-dropping twists and turns. It is a harrowing and haunting watch that will leave a mark. “Rees has a firm hand and a clear vision that gives Mudbound a balanced coherence that keeps you involved,” wrote The Observer’s Rex Reed.
Gone Girl (2014)
Adapted by former Entertainment Weekly writer Gillian Flynn from her own 2012 bestseller, Gone Girl is the tale of Nick and Amy Dunne (Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike) and the seven years before and days and months after Amy’s sudden disappearance. As well as a tense, taut and often table-turning thriller, it is also an unsettling and uncomfortable examination of modern relationships and the rising tide of disconnection – not only between men and women, but also law enforcement and the public, the media and the truth. “Gone Girl grabs you by making you first believe one thing, then another, quite the opposite,” wrote London Evening Standard’s David Sexton.
The Remains Of The Day (1993)
Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Christopher Reeve and Hugh Grant star in this superb adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s book about the budding relationship between a butler and a housekeeper. Director James Ivory and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (who apparently also had assistance from Harold Pinter) do a magnificent job of creating an
atmosphere of crackling emotional tension amid the main characters’ constraints of being staff members in an upper-class estate. Forget Downton Abbey and its small-screen ilk, this is the upstairs/downstairs period drama you need to see.
Room (2015)
Brie Larson deservedly took home the Oscar for best actress for her portrayal of a young woman who is held captive for seven years. Despite the confined space to work with, director Lenny Abrahamson does a superb job of creating tension and keeping the viewer hooked throughout. Novelist Emma Donoghue wrote the screenplay, based on her 2010 novel of the same name. “This is a disturbing and absorbing film, shrewdly acted, particularly by Larson. It lets the audience in; it does not just let the nightmare stun them into submission,” wrote The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw.