A guide to four book-to-screen adaptations

Here are a few book-to-screen adaptations that we liked

From the moment #NetflixAndChill became a verb, web content creators have gone on overdrive, churning out a steady stream of content over the years. Perhaps to keep up with the high demand for content, screenwriters often dip into the pond of the tricky formula of book-to-screen adaptations. While many will still argue that there’s nothing like the tactile experience of picking up a book and reading it, many would also say that curling up in bed and watching a new show gives them just the right amount of entertainment to blow off some steam before crashing for the day. And the added perk of book-to-screen adaptations? It keeps the eternal debate of which is better, going.

The year 2022 has been a great one for OTT content that has seen a wide variety of books hitting the screens. If you’d think that it was only the classics that got adapted for the screen, think again. From fantasy to thrillers, the bouquet is wide. Here are a few that we have liked recently:

The Sandman on Netflix

The iconic comic book series by Neil Gaiman finally hit our screens through the Netflix adaptation that had Gaiman develop it with David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg. Adapted as a web series, the first season has 10 episodes that tells the stories of The Sandman comics, Preludes & Nocturnes and The Doll’s House. A stellar line-up of actors including Tom Sturridge, Charles Dance and Vanesu Samunyai, have delivered powerful performances to do justice to this universally-loved body of work.

The fact that Gaiman was a close part of its creation has worked in favour of The Sandman and perhaps explains why the series has earned such rave reviews from even the most conservative book-loyalists. While the writing is tight, expertly winding together the narrative that tells the story of Dream and his interactions with the human world, the cinematography has also been praised for rightly capturing the dark, fantastical tones of the comic series. Barring a few tweaks, the adaptation follows the comics perfectly, while also being organically inclusive.

Pachinko on Apple TV+

If the rave reviews and the NYT-bestseller tag for the novel were not enough to prove its brilliance, Barack Obama’s praise for it definitely won over the sceptics. Written by Min Jin Lee in 2017, the novel tells the story of the Korean suffering during the Japanese colonisation of the 17th century through four generations of an immigrant family.

Adapted for the screen by Soo Hugh, the eight-episode series also tells the emotional, hard-hitting story in a production that was praised for its multilingual approach. Tastefully curated, the series often vacillates between the present and the past. While some of the plots from the book had to be left out, the series, by itself, won praise as an independent work that depicts the often-ignored immigrant stories of the Japanese occupation of Korea.

The Gray Man on Netflix

Netflix’s big movie directed by the Russo brothers and featuring the likes of Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans is based on Mark Greaney’s eponymous book from 2009. While the film runs high on energy and action, with solid performances by the men in the lead and Ana De Armas, it also boasts of great cinematography that doesn’t let the audience lose the plot of this high-chase drama. It is of no surprise, then, that the success of the film has already made the OTT giant announce its sequel. However, readers of the book will notice major changes. The Russo brothers have blamed these on the difference between the two formats; readers might be missing things such as the backstory of Court Gentry/Sierra Six/the Gray Man being sent on the run or much of the character’s arc beyond the time-frame depicted in the film, which is only a small portion of the book. But the one thing that stays intact? The viciousness of Lloyd Hansen.

Persuasion on Netflix

Anybody who dares to adapt anything written by Jane Austen is always up against unfair comparison to the text becauseof how widely loved her books are. However, this particular screen adaptation with Dakota Johnson in the lead has gotten mixed reviews due to its modern take on the classic. While being inclusive is great, one must also do it sensibly, especially while handling an Austen adaptation–and this has been a bone of contention about the film.

Moreover, “modern” dialogues such as, “If you’re a five in London, you’re a 10 in Bath” seem quite misplaced. However, Johnson’s wine-guzzling, pining Anne Elliott has still curried favour with a lot of viewers due to her tongue-in-cheek portrayal. But it must be noted that there were some big differences in the film, such as its first-person narrative, and the fact that the book was much more serious than the film made it out to be with its happy endings.

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