"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." - SusieHaunting, isn't it?
If you've read the book, or come across the film's trailer in recent history, you recognize this quote. It recides on the first page of the first chapter, and it's the first line you read. After reading it, there's no mistaking the emotional depth and heartbreak you will feel as a reader. It isn't often an author is able to snatch a reader's heart from the first few words of a book and refuse to let go to the very end - trust me, I've read a lot of books. So after I read it, paid for the theatre, sat in my seat with Sprite in hand, and as the lights began to dim, I was eagerly anticipating that one simple line - "My name was Salmon, like the fish..."
But as I watched the screen and those words were not muttered, I began to get the sinking feeling this film was not going to fulfill my expectations. "PSHH, TOO EARLY!", I'm sure is what you are thinking. And yes, in perhaps other circumstances I wouldn't have made such a rash and quick decision within the first 5 minutes. However, on this rare occassion I venture outside of the normal, "Thou shalt not read book when made into a film", I was going to be a tough critic.
As the film went on, it wasn't so much that it wasn't beautiful. My goodness! It was certainly breathtaking. The film captured PERFECTLY the other-worldly aspects of Susie's Heaven. There were images and places which were unbelievable; there was no doubting, the aesthetic strength.
Sadly, however, take these away and you are left with what seems like a choppy mix of events, people, relationships, and emotions. Or, atleast, for those of us with enough previous knowledge and understanding of the book, that's how I saw it. Things started to happen which were either out of order or simply nonexistent within the book. And ya know, I get it. I understand it is not always practical to translate a book exactly how it is written onto the screen. But to some degree, especially when the majority of the seats in the theatre will be filled with fans and even obsessers of the book, shouldn't it atleast try to be?
Too often I've seen movies written and shot with the reader too much in mind. So much so that they forget that even with our acknowledgement of everything that is going to happen, we want-correction- we crave, to be able to sit back and see our book as if we had opened up that first page. Is that so much to ask?
To some extent I feel bad for those people who haven't read the book because they're probably thinking, "Uhhh, what just happened?" To some degree I should actually be thankful that atleast I wasn't sitting there trying to put together the pieces that seemed to, at times, jump from one moment to the next without filling in the inbetweens. Then again, maybe they didn't even notice.
But ya know, what am I really trying to say? The movie wasn't horrible. HECK, it wasn't even bad. I just would like to get one simple thing across: For those of you directors out there who would like to, as what seems to be extremely popular these days, bring a book to life on screen, please please be aware you are dealing with a specific fan base who might know more about the movie than you do. We know the characters, we imagine the scenes, and we've felt every emotion. Don't cheat us out of what we have always wanted; to be able to grasp at something more than just our own thoughts. To be able to, almost, visualize a tangible image of what might have been swimming in our minds for days, weeks, months, or even years.
We deserve that much.
Happy reading,
Lauren
