Slacks for Ella Funt

Comparing this movie and the book it’s based on really illuminates some of the strengths and weaknesses of film and writing. In the book we see everything entirely through Barbara; the reader is in her head. In film, the viewer can’t be in a character’s head in the same way. Barbara’s narration is there in voice-over, but as viewers, we still see her from the outside. The ending of the book is much creepier than the movie—I suppose they wanted the movie to have a friendlier ending with a bit of hope.

The film succeeds in showing some of the other characters in a way that make them much more sympathetic than in the book. Sheba’s affair with the student seems much more believable when we see it happen than in the book where we hear about it only from Barbara. Richard, Sheba’s husband, is much more sympathetic in the movie, probably at least in part because he’s played by Bill Nighy.

I was pleased that the movie clocks in at only an hour and a half. It’s a spare, concise novel and the movie is as well. Since every movie these days seems to run over two hours, it’s a relief to see one that doesn’t have a single extraneous scene.