This probably comes at no surprise, but I get really excited to watch movies. I love that part of the job of screenwriting is watching and analyzing stories. And I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as I do.
Yesterday I co-hosted a watch party and discussion of the new feature adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca (out now on Netflix; directed by Ben Wheatley, screenplay by Jane Goldman and Joe Shrapnel & Anna Waterhouse).
In light of that, today let’s talk about a few things the movie does well. Because, as you may know, adapting a novel to film brings unique challenges.
You’re working with source material, which writers sometimes think means the job is much easier – all the hard work is already done, right?
But that’s not the case, not really. Because adaptation isn’t a cut-and-paste type of job. There’s still the work of finding the story. And sometimes that can be even more complicated with existing material since you’re not inventing from scratch, you’re servicing a thing that lives on its own in the world, and trying to make it work in a different medium.
If you’re considering adapting a novel – your own or someone else’s – into a screenplay, here are three quick lessons that may help.
Consider when to consolidate, when to cut
One challenge of adaptation is figuring out what to keep and what to cut. And often what needs to be kept has to be consolidated into denser scenes for time and pace.
The new Rebecca offers a great example of how to consolidate information effectively. Seriously – it’s a fascinating exercise to read the book and then immediately watch the movie and notice how they stack exposition into scenes differently than we see it appear in the novel.
The movie establishes what we need to know about the protagonist, love interest, their relationship, the antagonist, and the love triangle of sorts in a few well-chosen moments. It’s an impressive feat, and we definitely notice the difference in pace from book to movie. (Some may find that more enjoyable than others.)
Making the protagonist active
Different medium, different needs. In a movie, the audience generally expects and wants to see the protagonist doing something to achieve a goal. Pursuing what they want, what’s important to them in their lives at that moment. In a book we can live inside someone’s head and be happy there. In a movie, we’re observing from outside their head (usually). We’re watching what they do – which means we want to see them doing something or it feels like we’re not really watching anything.
In Rebecca the novel, the protagonist is very timid, meek. She spends a lot of time observing what’s going on around her, internally struggling with feelings of inferiority. Worrying & scurrying. And while the internal stuff of the character is one of the best things about the novel, a consideration when it comes to an adaptation is whether that type of character is right for a movie.
For the movie, the writers took care to make the protagonist more active, to show her doing things in service of her desires. Being more active where she’s more reactive in the novel. And yes – it changes the nature of the character. Some may dislike this choice. But I think it’s one they probably had to make, in order to make that transition effectively from one medium to another.
Say what you want to say
One consideration that comes with adaptation is whether to be faithful to the plot and details of the source material, or to be faithful to the spirit of the source material. And there isn’t one right answer – even when you’re adapting an existing thing, you’re still making choices to create something new.
Like with any project (adapted or original) these choices can be guided by what the writer/filmmaker wants to say with the story – whether you think of that as the takeaway message, the “what’s it about”, the theme, etc.
You may take one series of plot events and frame them to deliver one meaning, and another writer may take the same events and create a story that says something different. That’s great, right? You get to write stories that express your beliefs and point of view.
In Rebecca, the framing of the movie shifts its focus from the transformation of the character to the romance between the protagonist and her new husband. The plot events are probably 99% the same as they are in the novel – yet the movie means something slightly different. The filmmakers decided to tell a slightly different story.
(In our discussion group, this choice seemed to disgruntle the fans of the novel the most.)
The story is the thing
Adapting a novel to a movie can be uniquely challenging, but if you remember that much of the work is the same whether you’re starting from scratch or starting with source material, that can make the job feel more manageable. Every new project brings with it some unfamiliar challenges. It’s all about figuring out what story you want to tell, and then selecting and assembling the building blocks to create that story.