Books don’t always stay in print form. In fact I think more people
“read” books by watching movies or TV than we might realize. The transformation of books to the screen is not without its challenges, however. There have been some terrible adaptations like Dune (1984) which tried to cram a massive book with complicated plot lines into a two hour movie or The Scarlet Letter (1995) starring Demi Moore which seemed to be more interested in steamy loves scenes than actually engaging with the themes of the book.  On the other hand there have been wonderful adaptations like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy or Forest Gump where the essence of the book has been synthesized without slavishly following the text and yet the movie feels whole and true to the book.

So this week I am introducing the first of an occasional series of reviews on books-to-movie or book-to-television production.  I hope these reviews might help you decide whether it is worth seeing the movie or TV adaptation of a book that you have read or were thinking of reading!

Which brings us to the to movie adaptation that I want to review which is A Man Called Ove . (See the movie trailer here.) I recently reviewed the book of the same name and then over Women’s March weekend, I watched the movie on demand with my family.

I wasn’t sure that anyone could do this book justice.  The main character, Ove, is so crucial to the story and yet he is taciturn, grumpy and sometimes actually down right mean. I though it would be hard to bring such a character with that kind of personality to life without alienating the audience or creating a caricature that would seem insincere and unbelievable.  But the adaptation of this book was done extremely well and the actor, Rolf Lassgård, who plays Ove brings a sense of underlying humanity and sorrow to his character that helps the audience see past his gruff exterior.  As with most good adaptations the movie is not adhere slavishly to the book but changes things to fit a different medium, which highlights the author’s intent and themes. This was a Swedish film but even with subtitles there was not a dry eye at the end.  You can’t ask for more!

Brenda’s Rating: *****(5 out of 5 Stars)

Watched on Demand