SO, I've decided that, when I see a movie based on a book that I have already read, I will write about it here in Brizmus Blogs Books! YAY!!!! Just try telling me you're not excited!!!!
Last night, I saw "the Road," which was based on the book by Cormac McCarthy of the same title.
Unfortunately, I read the book before having a book blog, so no review to link you to.
THE BOOK: I only sort-of liked this book. I thought it was beautifully written, and the relationship between the boy and his father was intense and beautiful, the kind of pure, undying love that I'm just not used to seeing. And yet, it was also slow and boring. At times when I THOUGHT it should have been intense, I just didn't feel the intensity of it, I didn't feel the stress that I theoretically should have been feeling.So, while I enjoyed it, the overall impression that it left me with was: BORING!
I know a lot of people will hate me for saying that.
THE MOVIE: The movie was a different story, but not entirely. I really thought that there was no way a movie would be able to portray the relationship between the boy and his father with the same majesty, beauty, and intensity of the book. Cormac McCarthy's words were carefully chosen and used with grace, and it seemed to me like that might be next to impossible to transfer to the big screen.I was wrong.
Watching the movie, I felt their relationship so much more intensely than I did while reading the book. It was confusing and unsure and yet perfect and innocent at the same time.
Seeing the images I had previously only imagined also helped me get a better sense of the tension and stress I had thought I should be feeling while reading the book. It all became so much more real to me, and there were several times in which I actually found myself holding my breath in anticipation.
And yet, it was also exceedingly slow. So slow that I at times found myself bored. Which is what I meant when I said that it was not entirely a different story. The boredom during the movie, though, was significantly less than during the book. Thus the overall impression that it left me with: INTENSE!
Verdict: the MOVIE was BETTER than the BOOK!!
Have you seen the movie? What did you think?
If you want a great review of this book by someone who loved it, check out Rhiannon Hart's review!