I LOVE Alfonso Cuarón’s sci-fi action movie Children of Men. I’ve watched maybe six times and every time, the ending always almost brings me to tears. So when I learned it was adapted from P.D. James’ book of the same name, it was a no-brainer deciding what my next book would be.
After finishing the book, it wasn’t difficult to reach to the conclusion that I enjoyed the movie better.
While James’ book gives a more in-depth look at how human infertility and humanity’s slow death march towards extinction affects the sexual dynamic between men and women and almost demented ways humans try to cope with a world without children or a race of dead men walking, I feel the book dedicates WAY too much time describing the failing of human civilization and the Regrets and guilt of Theo Faron. It’s not even until after 2/3 through the book where it feels like the plot and story are properly paced and stuff of consequence actually begin to happen.
The film’s adaptation by, comparison, feels consistent in its pacing and the world building and woe-is-mes of Theo feel more compact a take up less of the audience’s time.
What books do you feel were worse than its film adaptation and why?
Just on the subject of the movie, there’s a scene in the middle of it where Theo, having just had his ex-wife killed right in front of him, nicks off into the woods to have a quick smoke to try and calm his nerves, and pretty much collapses into himself. The camera lingers on his suffering for a few seconds, then somebody calls his name and he has to try and get his shit back together so he can function as a human being again for the remainder of the movie.
That scene breaks me every time I see it. It is so very relateable.
That came to mind for me too. Clive Owen was masterful in that movie.