30 Days of Film: Bel's day 19

| by Bel | 9.51pm NZ time |

Favourite film based on a book/comic/etc

Everything Is Illuminated


Plenty of people would disagree that this film is a good adaptation of the book. I know what they mean. A whole third of the book's interwoven plot is completely ignored. The devasting final reveal is completely flipped. The undercurrents of Jonathan and Alex's correspondence is glossed over.

And yet I would still argue that it is an entertaining and engaging film in its own right.

So much of this is thanks to wonderful performances which bring the quirky characters fully to life.


And the script takes the best of the book's writing for hilariously quotable dialogue:


Unlike most adaptations where I would argue the book must be read first (The Beach is a great film but it makes so much more sense if you've read the novel), I think you can safely read Everything Is Illuminated after having seen the movie without denegrating the experience of enjoying the story on the page.