I loved My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Don’t blame me if you keep reading then learn something you wished you hadn’t.
Anyway, where was I?
Oh, yes. The novel ending is possibly the most talked about since the Richard Gere/Jodie Foster movie Sommersby (hated that one, by the way).
Lots of people I’ve talked to hated the ending of the book and I’ve always defended it. It’s the only way it could end and keep us liking both Anna and Kate.
The movie changed it completely, a different sister dies. And I don’t think it’s nearly as compelling or satisfying.
When Anna died in the book, it was completely random, much like life. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. In her death, she was able to do that which she couldn’t accomplish while she was alive: save her sister.
In the movie, when Kate dies and Anna lives, it’s a let down. We’ve known from the beginning that Kate living was iffy at best. In the book, when Kate lives, it’s a complete surprise.
Jodi Picoult picked the hard row and it totally paid off.
Everyone seems to focus on the ending being the only thing really changed from the book and I disagree. I hated what the screenwriters did to the attorney.
I know, it’s only 103 minutes of movie, compared to several hundred novel pages. The subplot about the attorney had to be scrubbed completely. I’m okay with that. I’m not okay with them giving Campbell Alexander epilepsy to explain the seizures.
He had a brain injury resulting in a seizure disorder. I know lots of people would quibble, what’s the difference, a seizure is a seizure is a seizure. But I think the change diminishes both the disease and the injury. And the movie totally downplayed the role the dog played in making it possible for Campbell to have an ordinary life. I wanted to see him find his lost love from the book.
Okay, enough ranting from me.
Currently reading: The Historian
Last movie: The Proposal (I know, you’d think it was MSK but you’d be wrong. I had to let it percolate).
Last meal: movie popcorn and I’m feeling a little sick.
Today I prayed for: Scott Sassa, Dee, Barbara
No comments:
Post a Comment