Lovers of romantic movies might like the recently released People We Meet on Vacation. But people who have read the novel it was based on noticed many changes, the most important being that the movie was missing a lot of important moments.
In People We Meet on Vacation, the main characters’ friendship is explored through vacations. In the movie, they cut out or rush through some vacations. In the novel, they go on vacation to Vail, Colorado, where they share moments riding rented bikes and taking a gondola up the mountain.
They danced to “Brown Eyed Girl.” Poppy confesses that she did not know she was lonely until she met Alex, and they share a wholesome moment where Poppy opens up about leaving after her mom’s death. This is cut in the movie.
This happens a lot. Many screenwriters try to rush the overall plot of the novel into their movie adaptations, leading to the failure to include small scenes or details that impact the story.
In novels, the readers get to know characters more through their inner thoughts, making readers understand their dynamics better. Movie adaptations struggle to do that, and it’s the most important part, as it deepens the story.
In The Hunger Games, the novel describes details about each capital. In the movie, these details are rushed, limiting context.
Characters like Rue have a more lasting impact because readers get more of their backstories. In the novel, the readers find out that she has a lot of siblings. In the movie, the viewers only know that she is from District 11. This makes her death more emotional in the novel. Without this backstory, viewers see Rue as more like an ally for Katniss instead of a real person.
Characters can easily be misunderstood without an internal monologue, which is rarely used in movies. Novels allow for more detailed flashbacks. In movies, they might cut out or alter these flashbacks.
Novels take longer to read, leaving the reader feeling more of a connection to the characters. In novels, character development is spread over many chapters. In movies, they get rushed into two to three hours.
However, it is true that movies have strong visuals, leading to watchers getting to see the world instead of just imagining it. A lot of sci-fi movies feel real because of the extreme details in the movie.
Movies limit viewers’ creativity in what they picture, though. In novels, the side characters have more of an impact on the story, while in movies, they are often neglected.
In Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, the movie misses a lot of moments from the novel. In the book, the readers know about Procrustes, a villain who traps people so they cannot escape by stretching them if they’re too short or cutting them if they’re too tall to fit his beds perfectly. In the movie, this is completely ignored and cut.
While movie adaptations of books are entertaining and take less time and effort than reading the novel, they miss the emotional depth of the story that the novel gives.
