Guest Author - Lane Graciano
One of the virtues of written fiction is that every reader can personalize the stories, re-imagine what the author imagined. The creator of Jane Eyre conceptualized her as “pale” and “plain, and little,” and some people saw these traits in Mia Wasikowska and Charlotte Gainsbourg – and even the glamorous Joan Fontaine, sans makeup. A total of 28 actresses, of varying degrees of homeliness, have played Jane in the movies and television in the past 110 years.
Fiction has long provided filmmakers with fertile ground in which to nourish their artistry. As viewers, we get to experience the story all over again, in Technicolor and surround sound. Occasionally, the movie even turns out to be as satisfying as the book. The adaptations described below have yet to prove their quality, but if nothing else, they’ll see us through to the holiday season. The number in parentheses is the book’s publication year, and the list is chronological by theatrical release date.
One Day (2009)
Another romantic drama, this sure-fire date movie is more Harry and Sally than Rochester and Jane. It’s David Nicholls’ best-seller, adapted by the author himself and directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education), so it seems to have been in the right hands. Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess star as Em and Dexter, college sweethearts whose lives we peek into one day at a time over the two decades after their graduation. The film opens on August 19.
The Three Musketeers (1844)
Another generation, another Hollywood version of the French fab four. Director Paul W. S. Anderson (Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil) amps up the action with CGI and the comic-book chic with Milla Jovovich as Milady de Winter. Orlando Bloom, who might have been cast as D’Artagnan in his younger days, takes a diverting turn as the Duke of Buckingham. The fourth musketeer is played by Percy Jackson himself – Logan Lerman, who is also the star of his next movie, another literary adaptation (The Perks of Being a Wallflower). All for one, and one for all on October 21.
The Rum Diary (1998)
Before pioneering Gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson wrote two novels, the first of which is still unpublished. The Rum Diary, which lay dormant for decades, is set in the early 1960s and takes inspiration from Thompson’s early profligate experiences. Long-time admirer Johnny Depp plays Paul Kemp, a journalist who moves from New York to Puerto Rico, where adventure ensues. The movie opens on October 28.
Wuthering Heights (1847)
It seems only natural that Emily Brontë’s equally beloved novel should follow big sister Charlotte’s Jane Eyre. This British production, written for the screen by Olivia Hetreed (Girl with a Pearl Earring), is the 19th adaptation listed on the Internet Movie Database – but it boasts an intriguing first: Heathcliff is played by black actor James Howson, in his debut role. The film will compete at the Venice Film Festival and then open in the UK on 11/11/11. The U.S. release date has not been announced.
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2003)
Writing in the British newspaper The Guardian, American expatriate author Lionel Shriver marveled at “the large number of fiction readers who know exactly who Kevin is.” Her murderous literary creation is played by Ezra Miller (who will also be in The Perks of Being a Wallflower), with Tilda Swinton as troubled mother Eva and John C. Reilly as her estranged husband. We can start talking about this film on December 2.
The Wettest County in the World (2008)
This period crime drama is based on the book by Matt Bondurant, which is subtitled “a novel based on a true story.” The Prohibition-era Bondurants of Virginia were a family of bootleggers, and the book’s narrator, Jack, is a fictionalized version of the author’s grandfather. The movie boasts a stellar cast: Tom Hardy from Inception, Shia LaBeouf, Gary Oldman, “it girl” Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain and Guy Pearce. But we’ll have to wait until 2012 for this one to be opened. Good thing there are always great books to read in the meantime.
