The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and 3 Other Adaptations Are No Worse Than Their Original Books
Books adaptations that will appeal to fans of the original sources as well as viewers who are not familiar with them.
The art of adapting a book is not easy: creating an original work based on a novel, story, or short story can be difficult because it's hard to convey the author's ideas while preserving the director's originality. However, these movies managed to do just that.
1. The Hours, 2002
The Hours, a novel by Michael Cunningham and a film by Stephen Daldry, takes place simultaneously in three different time periods. In 1923, author Virginia Woolf is working on Mrs. Dalloway, struggling with depression, and contemplating suicide.
In 1951, housewife Laura Brown is bored in her perfect home. In 1999, publishing editor Clarissa Vaughan is caring for her ex-lover, who is dying of AIDS.
The film attracted attention with its strong cast – it earned $108 million on a budget of only $25 million – and the leading actresses and crew received many awards, including an Oscar for Nicole Kidman, who was unrecognizable as Woolf.
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 2011
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first novel in Stieg Larsson's best-selling Millennium trilogy.
The novel has been adapted for the screen twice: once by Niels Arden Oplev and then by David Fincher.
While the Swedish adaptation is considered closer to the original, Fincher's film successfully conveys the book's oppressive and melancholic atmosphere. Rather than focusing on the suspense surrounding the investigation, the book's main theme is the dark sociological portraits of modern society.
3. The Witches of Eastwick, 1987
Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie are three young women leading joyless lives in the town of Eastwick. However, they have one secret: they are witches.
After wishing for the perfect man, the women discover that a mysterious stranger named Daryl has appeared in town. The more he penetrates their lives, the more convinced they are that he has secrets of his own.
John Updike, the author of The Witches of Eastwick, is considered an exquisite author who pays special attention to the sensual component of relationships. Director George Miller added more lightness to the film, largely due to Jack Nicholson's comedic talent.
4. Carrie, 1976
Carrie has no peace, either at school or at home. Her classmates laugh at her because she is unable to stand up for herself. Her religious fanatic mother torments her for misbehaving.
After an incident in the locker room, one of Carrie's classmates suggests her boyfriend invite Carrie to the prom. However, even there, the teenagers play a cruel joke on Carrie. This time, though, she is able to fight back.
Brian De Palma's film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, in which the master of psychological thrillers tells the story of a hunted girl in even darker colors than the author intended, finally placed the book and its film adaptation among the best examples of the genre.