Tag: television adaptations

Reminders of Him

Contrary to some reviews I’ve seen, I think the adaptation of Reminders of Him was not so bad at all. Maybe because I expected worse, maybe because movie makers often leave out so many important details.

Don’t get me wrong, details were left out here too… especially the background story for Kenna. Nothing was really mentioned there, and if you know the book, you know just how much that backstory carries the emotional weight of everything else.

I think that’s the tricky thing with adaptations. If you have not read it, you may feel it lacks a thing or two, and you won’t even know what it is. It just feels… slightly hollow in places. But because I read the book, I comfortably filled in the gaps. I knew what wasn’t being said, I could feel the missing layers, and somehow that made the experience fuller for me.

Watching it felt like reading between the lines in real time… like my mind was quietly supplying all the depth the screen couldn’t quite hold.

On the whole, I think it was a decent job. Not perfect, not complete, but still worth the watch… especially if, like me, you walked in already carrying the story in your heart.

One large thumbs up to Tyriq Leshon Withers, the actor who played the role of Ledger… I want to see more of him in such roles.

This and then that

I like to read books and then watch the television adaptations. I’m not sure when I decided I liked this but in the last six months, I’ve gone from the Lost flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland to The Idea of you by Robin Lee and then  Beth O’Leary’s The Flat Share.

I love The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. The book taught me a few new things and then it made me think too…I love it when a book makes me pause just to think. The television series was just okay.

I had a lot to say about The Idea of You in my posts The Idea Of You  and The Idea of You…2… book and film were lovely.

For The Flat Share, I loved the book but I think the television version could have been better than the attempt that was made. You see, it’s such a good story line, two people who share a flat but never get to see each other until they finally do of course. Tiffy gets the Flat from 6pm to 8am on weekdays and weekends. Leon, who actually owns the Flat works nights at a hospice, so he gets 8am to 6pm on weekdays and spends the weekends at his girlfriend’s place. Convenient and economical for both of them. The novel plays out nicely and it ends well. I can’t say the same for the film, a six part series, forty five minutes each.

Next in line…The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, I’ve got a forty pages to go with the book. I hope I enjoy the television series. I already love the fact that the Main role is played by Jennifer Garner and it’s a thriller.