I LOVE Alfonso Cuarón’s sci-fi action movie Children of Men. I’ve watched maybe six times and every time, the ending always almost brings me to tears. So when I learned it was adapted from P.D. James’ book of the same name, it was a no-brainer deciding what my next book would be.
After finishing the book, it wasn’t difficult to reach to the conclusion that I enjoyed the movie better.
While James’ book gives a more in-depth look at how human infertility and humanity’s slow death march towards extinction affects the sexual dynamic between men and women and almost demented ways humans try to cope with a world without children or a race of dead men walking, I feel the book dedicates WAY too much time describing the failing of human civilization and the Regrets and guilt of Theo Faron. It’s not even until after 2/3 through the book where it feels like the plot and story are properly paced and stuff of consequence actually begin to happen.
The film’s adaptation by, comparison, feels consistent in its pacing and the world building and woe-is-mes of Theo feel more compact a take up less of the audience’s time.
What books do you feel were worse than its film adaptation and why?
No Country for Old Men. The book is good but was obviously written to be adapted to a movie, and the bits the Coen brothers tweaked or cut really streamlined the story.
As beautiful as McCarthy’s language is in general, it’s not so much at the forefront in this novel, and the cinematography in the movie is breathtaking. Javier Bardem is just so menacing, and reducing the exposition on his character really elevates him to an unfathomable, almost supernatural evil. The movie version of the ending scene with Carla Jean is also way better than the book’s version.
Overall they took a solid if middling entry in mccarthys bibliography and made a truly incredible film out of it.
Yeah Chigur was straight up terrifying.
Wrong! That book is brilliant, one of McCarthy’s best. The stuff they leave out of the movie about the sheriff is hugely important to the story. Movie’s good, book is better.