Comparing books to their movie adaptions

“The movie is so much better than the book”

HUH. In the midst of a conversation with my friend, both an avid reader and film consumer, I was undeniably shocked at her statement. I immediately countered, “The book is always better than the movies. Name one time the movie was even remotely comparable to the book”

“Greta Gerwig’s Little Women”

Well... shoot. Touché I guess. That got me thinking though, how often do we immediately begin looking at a film through a critical lens in comparison to its written companion instead of taking the time to accurately assess its quality, as both a standalone film and an adaption?

So, here I’ve compiled a full analysis of the relationship between books and their literary counterparts. Just a disclaimer, I’m aware of the vast amount of book-to-movie adaptions, but this list is limited by the books and films I have actually consumed. Additionally, I've attempted to select a diverse range of content on this list by both popularity, quality, and genre. 

Love, Simon. 

I rewatched this movie recently actually, and I will say it does hold up. It definitely doesn’t reinvent the wheel. I’d call it about average in quality with a few highs and lows but, the themes really do a good job of connecting with young people. As a stand-alone film, I'd honestly say it would have done pretty well. The topic it covered was shockingly controversial at the time for a film to discuss so openly, and I remember it got quite a lot of press just using publicity. In comparison with the book, I’d also say the two are about equal in quality, with the book being slightly better. The film doesn’t really capture the whole nuance of the book, which it could have done a better job of if it had utilized its own medium better instead of relying so heavily on the source material. The highlights of the book were definitely the character relationships, I especially enjoyed Simon and Abby’s dynamic, and Simon himself was just a very enjoyable and well-written character. In the movie, Simon’s personality was a bit more subdued and I think the highlight of the film was definitely Simon’s coming out scenes and the ones that followed it. It hit all the right emotional beats, and has the potential to cause some very visceral reactions that really add to the impact. 

Little Women

While this book has been adapted multiple times, I’m going to focus on the Greta Gerwig adaptation. While I certainly don’t think this film was better than the book, I think they might be equally good in their own respects. Gerwig’s films always shine through in their depiction of the female experience, so naturally, she captured the essence of each March sister beautifully. The scene with Laurie and Jo on the hill is brilliant from the camera movement to the acting itself. The warm colors are exactly how I would imagine the novel to look. Plus it’s hard to deny the mood of the film itself captured the feeling of growing up with the March sisters just like the books being able to seamlessly transition between the wonder and playful love, to the challenges the girls each overcome. Now that I’ve said my peace to the movie, let’s discuss the book. I will admit when viewing Little Women as an adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's timeless classic, it’s a hard sell. Little Women itself has such a special place in my heart. I think if film succeeds in making you feel as if you are in the room with the March sisters, then the book makes you feel as if you are the March sisters. You feel Jo’s ambition and passion, Meg’s curiosity and protectiveness, the loss of Beth, and the insecurity of Amy so viscerally in a way that could never be fully done justice. 

Harry Potter

Alas once again I confess, the films are pretty dang close to the books. Considering the period in which the movies were filmed, Harry Potter was borderline revolutionary. The actors were iconic and the film took just the right approach to improvisation vs adhering to the original. But, still, the movies do fall into the shadow of the possibly (definitely) most popular book series of all time. One thing that does create some discrepancies is that some of the films are better than others, just as some of the books are better than others. In my personal opinion, the Prisoner of Azkaban and the Goblet of Fire are both the highlights of the films and books. However, contrary to this once again my opinion, The Deathly Hallows was the weakest movie, whereas Chamber of Secrets was the weakest book. These films are classics, however, and a few have gone down as some of my favorites of all time. But, alas nothing can compare to the legendary legacy of the books. 

Red, White, and Royal Blue 

Okay, this is one of those rare cases when I’d say the book and the movie are equal. Hear me out, while the movie cuts out a lot of the pivotal details that send the book from a cheesy rom-com into a heartfelt story that takes an inspirational approach to the future of politics, it’s still just as good as the book as a stand-alone film. Why? Because it’s really a great, feel-good, comedy, romance that gives not overwhelmingly angsty lgbtqia+ representation. First of all, they just don’t make rom-coms like they used to. You can go on about The Kissing Booths and Anyone But You. But before that, there were 10 things I hated about you and 500 Days of Summer. So by the fifth time that Laura Jean has to pick between Conrad and Jeremiah, while simultaneously trying to get into college away from her small town, without being distracted by a new love interest, it just gets a bit old. (Yes I know those are all from different stories, that was the point). Red, White, and Royal Blue is an electric, well-humored, and nuanced coming-of-age story. The movie is a campy, hilarious, media-influenced, rom-com with a side of the obligatory conflict. But, to me at least, I live for this kind of representation. The kind where it’s not constantly throwing characters into traumatic situations to be like ‘Hey, we’re making a statement about equality’ and instead 'Let's actually treat its minorities like equals.' This is 100 percent my opinion, I don’t speak on behalf of any minority groups, but it just made me really happy watching this movie and seeing it not be afraid to be what it is, instead of feigning depth. 

The Boys in the Boat

This is me advocating for one of my favorite severely underrated nonfiction books. The movie for this book came out like SUPER recently and while the movie is still good, it doesn’t do the book justice. The Boys in the Boat is a testament to the values of dedication, loyalty, and teamwork. While the film was certainly enjoyable, it focused way too heavily on the romance aspect, which was barely present within the book and the time it devoted to the relationship between the protagonist and his girlfriend/wife stole a lot of what made the book good. I know the characters can’t go around just quoting exposition all over, which did make up a lot of the missing segments of the story. However, it still could have taken more time to focus on the developing relationships between the boys as teammates which would have made their victories a lot more rewarding. Aside from the romance criticism, the filmmakers did the best they could and the movie did have a lot of cinematic appeal. Honestly, one thing the films did do better in my opinion was really romanticizing the time. The clothing, colors, and music were so lively and engaging and brought a lot of American charm that maybe was less prominent in the book. It’s just hard to live up to the legacy of a book that can make readers tear up from the first chapter. (I have multiple sources who confirm this, including myself). So, it’s no wonder that this time the movie didn’t measure up. 

Wonder

Interestingly, I feel like I never hear people talk about this book or the movie, yet it seems like at one point everyone read the story of Wonder in some way or another. Somehow this universal experience phenomenon goes mostly unnoticed, but I’ll never forget how wonder took the hearts of Americans by storm. The book is great, from its willingness to address all sides of an issue and excellently articulating the nuances of every stage of life from prepubescents to adolescence, to adulthood. The movie also uh does this, yeah. The film's highlight was definitely the acting, the cinematic medium didn’t contribute much. However, each character was portrayed very well and some gut-wrenching moments hit almost as hard as they did in the books. I think something about how the story of wonder is so simple but beautiful doesn’t really lend itself to a film that has to condense this slow coming of age into a shorter more compact story. The beauty of wonder is seeing each of the characters in a new light through every perspective. The film attempts to do this but ultimately loses some of its charm and makes the conclusions less rewarding.