Friday, September 7, 2007

Omission = Improvement

The Hours movie is very good (granted we haven't seen the end) and represents the novel very well. Thus far I am very impressed with the quality of the movie and how well the novel is translated to film. The item missing from the movie that I'm going to talk about is actually a good thing. This event was unnecessary in the novel and distracted the reader from the main focus of the story. This event is Clarissa's visit from Mary Krull.
When Mary Krull visits Clarissa in The Hours the novel really pulls back from the point of the story and goes on something of a tangent. While this may simply be the author trying to portray a difference between different homosexual "cliques" if you will, it really seems unnecessary and does little to advance the plotline or give insight into the characters' backgrounds. While this does show Clarissa's view of the outspoken Mary Krull, it does little to inspire emotion in the reader.
The movie benefits from this in more than one way. For one, the reader isn't lead on a tangent that may distract them from the big picture message that the film tries to communicate. Also, it saves valuable time, which in Hollywood, means a lot. The thing about this difference is that it's not a different take on something, or anything that the director really changed, but something that was omitted for the benefit of the film. The film benefits from the removal of this scene as it keeps the story flowing and lets the viewer remain in the emotional state they need to be to truly appreciate the film.

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