Movie vs Book Review: All the Bright Places

My favorite hobby is to find every possible way to procrastinate, leading me to enjoy both reading books and watching movies. Considering this, I often come across movie adaptations of books and vice versa. These forms of media offer different ways to entertain, whether it be by captivating readers as the story progresses word by word, or compelling viewers to watch the story continue. When books and movies portray the same story, this begs the question: which version is better? With this inquiry in mind, I have chosen to read and watch a cliché, yet, emotional story, All the Bright Places, and only one version will forever live in my heart. 

​

Originally written by Jennifer Niven and published in 2015, All The Bright Places details the love story between an ex-writer, Violet, who grieves for her sister, and a social pariah, Finch, who suffers from an undiagnosed mental illness. When the two teens are partnered for a school project and “wander”, (explore), their state of Indiana to complete the assignment, they encourage each other to live life to the fullest. Finch pushes Violet out of her self-isolation and she becomes his new inspiration to stay “awake”, or prevent his bouts of disassociation and intense mood swings. Unfortunately, as Violet progresses past her hardships, she also watches Finch self-destruct over the course of their “wanderings”, which causes his weeks-long disappearance. She searches for him with clues he left in his room and a mysterious email he had sent. Sadly, Violet finds Finch drowned in a lake they used to swim in together. Now she must cope with the death of a loved one all over again. She visits the last “wanderings” they have marked on a map and discovers pieces he left of himself, and ultimately, closure.

​

When reading a book, the reader must use their imagination to play every scene in their head. When particular songs are mentioned in the book, that allows the reader to imagine their melody or search them up to understand the exact mood the author meant to set the scene as. On the other hand, the movie has the ability to actually play that music, making it easier for the tone to be set. Additionally, the leads in the film portrayed their characters and the complex emotions felt when managing trauma realistically for those who may not relate to their situations that were explained with paragraphs in the book. Elle Fanning’s acting is particularly impressive for authentically depicting grieving over a loved one and being able to grow, instead of reverting into who she may have been before experiencing that trauma. The concept of healing from your pain without ignoring the scars it leaves is one of the most fundamental themes the original writer constantly repeated in the novel.

​

As a forewarning, there is a lot to unpack in regards to what the film adaptation lacked. The movie adaptation--directed by Brett Haley--features talented actors and actresses such as Elle Fanning, Justice Smith, Luke Wilson, and Alexandra Shipp. Although the film includes most of the major plot points, there are significant details that were altered or excluded. The introductions of the main characters are as impactful as any first impression. The novel illustrates two people, Violet and Finch, meeting for the first time at the top of a bell tower. Both of them are sitting on the ledge; and after Finch encourages Violet to get down, she does the same for him. This intense beginning establishes the couple as equally vulnerable and willing to help one another. The film adaptation, however, starts with separate introductions and a meeting at a bridge instead. Finch meets Violet while she is standing on the ledge of the bridge that also happened to be the site of her sister’s untimely death, and he climbs up on the ledge to convince her to get down. Most importantly, the film adaptation disappointingly left Finch’s death ambiguous, since it was never confirmed as an accident or a suicide, whereas in the book, it was confirmed as a suicide. Approaching the topic of suicide is risky in most films because it tends to be romanticized or overdramatized. Furthermore, killing the main character is a test that proves whether the world the writer has created around them is developed enough to continue without them. Although leaving Finch’s end as unconfirmed may be a way to avoid portraying such a sensitive topic inappropriately, the lack of attention to his development is made evident by his death, circling back to the issue of the portrayal of mental illness in the media. His death in the book was fought against so hard and it was tragic when he finally gave in, but in the movie, he was on one downward slope. It made his end seem more inevitable than subtly foreshadowed.

​

The entire story in all its complexities had the space to be presented slowly in the book, while the movie crammed major events and a full soundtrack into the short span of just an hour and forty-three minutes. The beginning of Violet and Finch’s relationship, for example, needed to be handled delicately. They both had extremely vulnerable mental states, and Finch did not employ the healthiest methods in his pursuit of Violet. The novel negated this by giving the two more time to be comfortable with one another. However, in the film, Finch’s attempts to be with Violet signaled various red flags. Finch had barely met Violet before he started showing up at her house uninvited and pressuring her to go “wander” with him. In the novel, once their romantic relationship is underway, he tries to better himself before his situation takes a turn for the worse. (It took a turn down the previously mentioned slope). The narration from Finch’s point of view specifically references Violet when he stops himself from thinking self-deprecating or self-destructive thoughts. He depended on Violet more as well, portraying a healthy give and take partnership, whereas the film made it seem as if Violet should date Finch because he saved her once and creates an unhealthy emotional dependency on him. 

​

In terms of the representation of coming to terms with death and grief, the book undoubtedly surpassed the film significantly. Although Fanning portrayed the character well, there were stronger signs of growth and emotional healing for her in the novel that increased her character depth. She was interested in more aspects of life than her relationship with Finch. Finch’s character development in the movie was similarly lackluster considering he was written as merely an obstacle for Violet to overcome rather than the co-lead. While reading the book, I cried like a baby countless times because a close family member of mine died recently, and the couple’s separate experiences were written relatably. (This is why I chose to read late at night where I could avoid questions from my household). In contrast, I irritatedly yelled at my T.V. screen with tearless eyes due to Finch’s death being so sudden with so many aspects of his character being unexplored, thus, wasting the potential development he could have had. Deviating from its adaptation, the book gave equal treatment to Violet and Finch with such immaculate character development that after Finch died, I caught myself thinking “Finch would say this,” or “he would do that,” for the rest of the novel.

When choosing a winner between the book and film adaptation of All the Bright Places, it would be like choosing between an Olympic sports team that competes with a smaller-than-average preschooler. With an accurate portrayal of grief, depression, and a truly meaningful romantic relationship, the book vastly surpasses its horrible film adaptation. I would definitely recommend reading the novel in your spare time because it is a masterpiece that will play your heart like a fiddle. The book was better (by a longshot).

 

Citations

Haley, Brett, director. All the Bright Places. Netflix, 2020.

Niven, Jennifer. All the Bright Places. Knopf Publishing Group, 2015.