The challenge of adapting Carson’s novels is that the characters are very introspective. Most of the story unfolds within the prose which is difficult to convey on screen.
The highlight of this is young Cecily Tyson and Alan Arkin (may they rest in peace).
The story in the movie is severely watered down from the book. They completely took out Biff’s storyline 😭, the relationship between Singer and Antonapolous is vague, Blount’s arc was underwritten, and the commentary on the impact of capitalism in each characters personal life was barely visible here. Also the book takes place in a rural Deep South town, and this movie is not that.
It is a difficult task to adapt this into a movie format (imo it could be more easily a limited series), and this isn’t terrible, just lacking in some pretty important areas. I get that this was filmed in the 1960s, but you’re adapting a novel with queer and communist themes from the 40s, if you’re gonna water it down, just don’t adapt it at all. I hope to see a well-crafted and faithful adaptation of this profound story someday.
The challenge of adapting Carson’s novels is that the characters are very introspective. Most of the story unfolds within the prose which is difficult to convey on screen.
The highlight of this is young Cecily Tyson and Alan Arkin (may they rest in peace).
The story in the movie is severely watered down from the book. They completely took out Biff’s storyline 😭, the relationship between Singer and Antonapolous is vague, Blount’s arc was underwritten, and the commentary on the impact of capitalism in each characters personal life was barely visible here. Also the book takes place in a rural Deep South town, and this movie is not that.
It is a difficult task to adapt this into a movie format (imo it could be more easily a limited series), and this isn’t terrible, just lacking in some pretty important areas. I get that this was filmed in the 1960s, but you’re adapting a novel with queer and communist themes from the 40s, if you’re gonna water it down, just don’t adapt it at all. I hope to see a well-crafted and faithful adaptation of this profound story someday.
