Wednesday 17 September 2014

From Book to Screen: Before I Go to Sleep Film Review

































Two of my favourite psychological thrillers, Before I Go to Sleep and Gone Girl have been adapted into big screen blockbusters, so naturally I was the first in line to grab my tickets for the screening of Before I Go to Sleep.

I had very high expectations for this film as I adored the book. The story follows Christine, a woman in her forties who wakes up everyday believing she is in her early twenties and has absolutely no recollection of the past twenty years. 

I often describe the story as "50 First Dates - but evil". Christine's amnesia is the result of a traumatic experience from her past. Pulse racing twists and turns ensue as the truth slowly reveals itself. But, did this translate well on screen? 

For the most part, yes - suspense and mystery were definitely major themes in the film. One slight change that I really enjoyed was that in the book Christine has a diary, whereas in the film she documents her findings with videos. This worked so well and really helped drive the plot along and the book version wouldn't have been half as effective.

However, not all change is good - one particular annoyance of mine was that Christine's career before the incident wasn't mentioned - not even once! The film portrayed her as some kind of 1950s housewife who actually didn't have anything worth giving up before her traumatic accident and lived solely for her husband. 

There was also some other minor changes that some fans of the book seemed to get annoyed about, however I wasn't too bothered by them and understood why they had been changed for a film audience. Overall, a very good adaptation - but I doubt it will be as celebrated as the book. 


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4 comments:

  1. I got this book recently, although not got round to reading it yet. I didn't realise they had adapted it into a film. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with Gone Girl :)

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    1. Me too. I almost squealed when I saw the trailer for Gone Girl at the cinema! x

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  2. I was really disappointed in the film! I really liked how she had a camera instead of a journal, as I can see how that works so much better in the film and made sense. I was mad that they didn't mention her career, and I was also mad that the incident mentioned A LOT in the book wasn't there too. I just think they pretty much changed all of the details in the book.
    Maybe I shouldn't have read it the day before seeing the film though! As a standalone, the film would be great!

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    1. The book will always be my favourite though. :) z

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