Top ten books to movies

Top ten books to movies

It is film awards season, so it seems timely to do a ‘top ten movies based on books.’

There are very many that I have not seen (I tend to avoid watching movies if I like the book a lot), but it does happen: very rarely, there are a few times when film makers get it right: the movie is gorgeous, we don’t feel let down after enjoying the book. And if the movie is really good, we don’t compare it to the book but enjoy it in its own right. Here are my top ten:

1.       Looking for Alibrandi– based on Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

This is probably the only movie I have seen before I read the book.  I loved it so much I wanted to read the book.  When I read the book, I loved it so much, I wanted to see the movie again.  When watching the movie, I was sent back to my childhood where I was the weird child with the weird foreign family, always torn between trying to fit in and defying the mainstream norms.  Then, reading the book, it happened again, I felt everything Josie felt; and it was not a repetition of the movie.  Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. 

2.      Matilda - based on Matilda by Roald Dahl

I love everything by Roald Dahl but Matilda has a special place in my heart as she is a girl so in love with books that she defies her parents and the tradition of ignorance and greedy excess – to read.  The movie is equally gorgeous; all characters are so beautifully interpreted; it’s almost as if Roald Dahl himself had supervised the movie making.  Our family loves it so much, we refer to Miss Honey and the Trunchbull as if they were our neighbours.  

3.      The Book Thief –  based on Markus Zusak’ book

Everything in the book is perfect – particularly the heroine whose hunger for books is so great, she commits crimes.  The relationships between the characters are so beautifully portrayed that it is not possible to not feel for each one of them.  I did not want to see the movie as I was sure it would spoil everything the book did so well.  But my daughter convinced me to go with her, and I am glad she did.  All the components of the book were maintained, except for a small omission with the mother, when she apparently contemplates betraying their fugitive.  Not true!  But the movie can be forgiven for this because everything else is so perfect.

  (Hollywood couldn’t help itself with the ending:  Liesel didn’t die in New York but Sydney!)

4.      The Hunger Games – based on The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

The first book has such a perfect combination of action, relationships, the fight of good and evil, believable self-sacrifice and winning against the big guy.  The first movie managed to replicate these combinations without making book fans angry – which is a difficult accomplishment.  But it went further – creating a fan base of both the book readers and those who wouldn’t be seen dead with a book, suddenly buying the trilogy in paperback, hard copy, box set and e-copy.  Well done! 

5.      Brokeback Mountain – based on the shorty story Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

It is difficult to imagine that anyone could translate Proulx’s inimitable style of story telling – sparse in words but rich in meaning.  But Ang Lee, supported by a magnificent cast, managed to do it – create a story that did not have too many words but was so rich in feelings.  And the last words – ‘Jack, I swear, ..’ – are still talked about. 

6.      The Count of Monte Cristo – based on The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

If you are asking which adaptation, I’d say, ‘all of them!’ I love this book so much! I’ve read it as a child, as a graphic novel, as a teenager, as an adult. It never loses its most alluring quality (to me): just revenge! How I love it! But, if I have to single out one adaptation, it would be the one with John Caviziel and Guy Pierce.

(disclaimer: I have not seen the 2024 French adaptation, which is supposed to be awful, but I can’t believe such a thing is possible)

7.      The Handmaid’s Tale – based (loosely) on Margaret Atwood’s book

I am a huge Atwood fan (long before it became fashionable to be so), and although this book was never my favourite, it is memorable. It is a bit discombobulating at first, and it is hard to settle into the narrative. However, once you are in this (now not so much) surreal world where the government controls a woman’s reproductive system, as well as all other aspects of her life, there is no escape from the nightmare. Elisabeth Moss embodies the main character so well, I dare say she’s more real than the book character.

8.   Little Women – based on the classic by Louisa May Alcott

A timeless book and a timeless movie, whichever version you have seen. As a great piece of art, it allows for various interpretations. May I sneak in a book recommendation? Please read March, Geraldine Brooks’s book about the same events and piece of history, from the point of view of the father.

9.    Atonement – based on Ian McEwan’s book

I am a big Ian McEwan fan, and this is my second favourite book of his (On Chesil Beach is my favourite, in case you’re wondering). I think there is no wrong word or paragraph here. There is perfect harmony between the words, characters and the plot. And somehow the movie manages to do that as well, mostly thanks to brilliant performances by Keira Knightly, James McEvoy and an unknown kid called Saoirse Ronan.

10.      Crazy Rich Asians – based on the book by Kevin Kwan

Both the book and the movie are a pure delight. Every word, every character sparkles with idiosyncrasies and energy. While the book has a broader focus, I think the movie was right to focus mainly on Rachel Chu and her boyfriend, allowing this different medium to achieve what the book did – intrigue, family disfunction, joy and ‘love conquers all!’

 

So, what about your favourite book adaptation? 

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