By the Bel: Books Vs Film #2 - Beautiful Creatures

The Book –

I think buying the movie tie-in cover for this book was perhaps a mistake, as I kept flipping back to the cover to reference the appearances of the characters. I’m now wondering if I found a blockage in my imagination because I had them ‘figured out’ already.

Basic storyline is the old … sixteen year old girl coming into her full powers and having to choose between good and evil. There are massive consequences for either choice and the man in her life is her reason for fighting on.

I loved the way a male and female character spent the majority of the book working towards a common goal without having loads of sex, and the tonsil hockey was kept to a minimum.

I found it intriguing the history of the town played as much a part of the story as the storyline itself, tipping a hat to those who do not know their past but are having to relive it. Nicely done by Garcia and Stohl.

Lena’s family are a kooky lot, and considering the ‘mortals’ are supposed to be the epitome of ‘normal’, they’re just as odd in their own ways.

Of all the characters, I think I like Link and Amma the best, mainly because of their loyalty and their drive to do whatever it takes to be there when Ethan and Lena need them the most.

We’ll see how much CGI is needed to create as much life to the film as was given to us in the book. I’m actually looking forward to seeing what Richard LaGravenese can do to up the ante, and make us believe.

Mass Market Paperback, 563 pages

Published November 20th 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (first published November 23rd 2009)

original title: Beautiful Creatures by K Garcia and M Stohl

ISBN 0316231657 (ISBN13: 9780316231657)

The Film

In the process of cutting down a 500 plus page book into a 2 hour film, director, Richard LaGravense had to do some serious reshuffling. This is a film BASED on the book, which effectively means the creative license is used liberally. Though I now understand why the cover of the book had me confused.

The casting was done well, and between the three leading adult roles, Jeremy Irons (Die Hard: With a Vegence) Viola Davis (The Help) and Emma Thompson (Nanny McPhee) you’d be hard pressed to hear much history about the actors playing the teenagers.

LaGravense used the K.I.S.S. method and simplified both the character list and removed the unimportant plot points. He hits the most important bits, though they may not be in the same chronological order as the book.

The CGI is impressive and considering the Visual Effects department credits on the IMDB website (more than any other department in the whole production by far), you’d be a little perplexed if the effects were mediocre.

There were few weak points with the film. The one that bugged me the most was the contrasts in the dark scenes were so undefined. I watched the DVD in the darkest room in the house and had trouble making things out. The other was the southern accents. Now this may be a side effect of having a friend in the south who has taught me to pick the awful mimics, but whoa Mumma, I think they need to spend some time in the south. Yikes!

The wrap up…

I read the book first, and though the film and the book are of the same essence, they are far stronger as separate entities. The book was more detailed and the time restraints in the film perhaps weakened the emotional elements Stohl and Garcia were highlighting.

I enjoyed both though, and I’m heading off to  watch the extras on the DVD.