I started to ramble on to a question raised by one of our intelligent readers and authors, Deborah Shlian, about whether it’s better to see the filmed version before reading a book.

The question came up in the blog about The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency that starts March 29 on HBO, with numerous encores planned.

I think that the beautifully filmed and acted The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency can be enjoyed by those who have not yet read the novels as well as those who helped make them bestsellers.

But the filmed version of Alexander McCall Smith’s novels are an exception.

Most of the time, it’s obvious to me – read the novel, savor the novel, enjoy the novel. Then, if there is a filmed version, see it but realize that no film version can match the intricacies of the novel.

First, there’s the reality of time. An averaged-sized novel would be too long to be filmed entirely for the movies; not even a miniseries could capture all the nuances of a novel.

And it’s that word nuances that really matters.

Authors feature wonderful large and small nuances about their characters, scenery, plot and dialogue.

The best novel to screen projects are those that capture the essence of the book.

They show you through talented actors and directing the essence of what the characters are thinking and respect the source material.

(For another perspective on this, be sure to read Kevin Burton Smith’s excellent article “The Casting Couch” on casting mystery characters in film and television in Mystery Scene’s upcoming Spring issue.)

Mystic River was an excellent filmed version of Dennis Lehane’s novel. The cast, including Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, and Laura Linney, could not have been better.

Anyone could see that movie and be satisfied.

But they would have missed Lehane’s nuances. Like those lovely paragraphs talking about the fathers who worked in the candy factory and “carried the stench of warm chocolate back home with them.” Because of that, Sean Devine and Jimmy Marcus “developed a hatred of sweets so total” they never had dessert.

Or the line “Brendan Harris loved Katie Marcus like crazy, loved her like movie love…,” which Lehane once said was one of the first lines he wrote for Mystic River.

Imagine James Crumley’s 1978 The Last Good Kiss as a film. Sure it would make a great action film.

And the first scene would have to be of a man and a bulldog drinking in a falling down bar.

But could any film capture what is considered to be one of the best beginnings of any novel?

“When I finally caught up with Abraham Trahearne, he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts in a ramshackle joint just outside of Sonoma, California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon.”

Sometimes there isn’t even an attempt to capture that essences of a novel. Take Michael Connelly’s Blood Work, a good novel, a mediocre film.

Or Burglar, based on Lawrence Block’s funny Bernie the Burglar novels. I mean really….did anyone in their right mind imagine Whoopi Goldberg as Bernie?

But let’s end this on a positive note.

Those that do work include Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels reimagined as HBO’s True Blood and Ian Rankin’s John Rebus novels shown on BBC America as Rebus, now available on Acorn Media.

I also am looking forward to seeing Val McDermid’s A Place of Execution, which got nothing but rave reviews when it was shown on television last year in England.

Surely I have missed some. What do you think?

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 29th, 2009 at 12:14 pm and is filed under Alexander McCall Smith, Charlaine Harris, Dennis Lehane, Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, Val McDermid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.