My Favourite On-Screen Novel Adaptations from the Past Twenty Years
Martha Wrench
Following on from the success of Hulu’s adaptation of Sally Rooney’s coming-of-age romance novel, Normal People, which was praised for its near-perfect translation of the text onto screen, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favourite onscreen adaptations of novels from the past twenty years which have skilfully managed to interpret their original material and create impactful filmic renditions. This is certainly not an exhaustive list, however, these are ones that have remained close to my heart.
Firstly, who can forget the 2007 adaptation of Ian McEwan’s Atonement; a story which balances the forces of love, loss, innocence, and guilt within the era of World War Two.
Probably most well-known for its incredible five-minute single tracking shot over Dunkirk beach, this film captures the scale of the war in all its magnitude whilst retaining an intimacy with its protagonists that is unbreakable. Both nominated for Best Actor/Actress at the 2008 BAFTAs, James McAvoy and Keira Knightley’s chemistry sparkles, providing the film with the emotional force it requires in order for the innocence of the betrayal to truly land.
A young Saoirse Ronan is the perfect casting for the role of Briony, capturing the innocence and confusion at the world of complex adult emotions around her which quite rightly earned her her first Oscar nomination. Using a seemingly juxtaposing blend of delicacy and force in his film retelling of this McEwan classic, director Joe Wright does an excellent job in this.
2015 brought the film adaptation of Emma Donaghue’s Room, a novel which follows the story of a five-year-old boy, Jack, who is being held captive in a room alongside his mother. What made the novel so unique was Donoghue’s choice to narrate it from the perspective of Jack in which she perfectly captures the innocence and imagination of a young boy who is trying to navigate the rapidly expanding world around him. It is the total lack of adult cynicism in this perspective that gives her writing such poignancy and which its film adaptation had to be so careful in depicting.
The result, however, is outstanding due to the level of care that was put into it. From the details on the clothing which are patched up with dental floss instead of thread, to the pictures on the wall drawn by Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay themselves, Lenny Abrahamson is able to delicately piece together a fragile world, retaining the focus on the childish wonder of Jack (Jacob Tremblay) whilst exploring in greater depth the emotional strain placed on Ma (Brie Larson). It is a wonderfully truthful adaptation which shows what can be achieved when the original author is completely on-board with the project.
Although one of the most popular written genres of the 19th century, slave narratives have not often been the subject of Hollywood films. Steve McQueen’s 2013 film, 12 Years A Slave, thus changed Hollywood’s seeming inability to confront the horrors of slavery, choosing the narrative of Solomon Northup, a free African-American citizen who is sold into slavery and is subjected to twelve years of hellish enslavement before he finally manages to escape. This film is honest in its brutality, refusing to censor the realities of slavery, and is certainly a difficult watch but a necessary one.
Although some critics have attacked McQueen for his elaboration or misinterpretation of the truth in certain parts of the film, it is important to recognise that truth cannot be reduced to just accuracy. Whether some scenes in the film actually happened in Northup’s life is, to some degree, irrelevant due to McQueen’s ability to create a feeling of truth. Supported by some incredible acting from the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o, this film unapologetically presents the reality of slavery in all its horror and is one that will stay with you for a long time after.
My fourth pick is one of my favourite films from recent years and one which made Timothée Chalamet a household name: Call Me By Your Name. Based on the novel by André Aciman, Luca Guadagnino’s film creates a wonderfully heady atmosphere of first love which oozes with sensuality and desire. Becoming somewhat of a signature of Guadagnino, location is placed at the forefront of the movie, wrapping Elio and Oliver’s romance in the delights of the lazy Italian summer. The film’s visual is its strength and although the casting of Armie Hammer as Oliver slightly alters the seven-year age gap in the book to one that is rather larger, Hammer and Chalamet have an onscreen presence that is intoxicating in its complexity and passion.
It is somewhat rare that a rather ‘light’ piece of literature is adapted into a film to large critical praise and yet, in 2006, The Devil Wears Prada did just that. Garnering attention from the likes of the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, and the BAFTAs, The Devil Wears Prada immediately became a knock-out success. This shouldn’t be surprising though due to its international success as a book, with over a million copies sold worldwide.
Combined with the talents of Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, this film was always going to be a success. It is glorious in its depiction of the world of high fashion with Meryl Streep giving a positively devilish performance as Miranda Priestley who, to this day, remains an iconic figure to many. Stylish, vivacious, and wickedly funny, this is a film that actually surpasses its source material.
In reality, it is so difficult to choose just a handful of screen adaptations and I could be here for a lot longer listing all the great films that have been produced. Honourable mentions of course have to go to Baz Lurhmann’s The Great Gatsby which just drips in decadence and splendour from start to finish, as well as the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender which, for me, perfectly translates the characters of Jane and Mr Rochester onto screen in a blend of passion and suffering.
What film adaptations of literature stand out to you? Perhaps Greta Gerwig’s Little Women had you scrabbling around for your childhood copy of Louisa May Alcott’s novel in a resurgent wave of nostalgia? Or perhaps it was the magic of Hogwarts brought to life on screen that will forever see the Harry Potter films as your firm favourites?
Books will always be a source of inspiration for films and it is the job of the filmmakers to translate the imaginations of the books’ readers onto screen and into a visual reality. A near-impossible task but one which some films manage to get just right.