Never Judge a Book by its...Movie!

I watch a lot of Star Movies, and this weekend was no exception. The Movie being shown was 'The Runaway Jury' loosely based on the book of the same name by John Grisham. After watching some excellent movies based on Books like LOTR as well as Harry Potter, and the Oscar winner, 'A Beautiful Mind', I was expecting something great, because I am a great Grisham fan.

Many would not believe that I could be a law fan. So let me explain: I see litigation as verbal chess. Each new case is like a new game. There are several ways of fighting it. You need foresight to be able to see beforehand what your opponent is going to do, and have a strategy ready for him. One wrong move and all will be over. Lawyer dramas are hence very intellectually stimulating, nothing to say of the fact that they are thrilling. Some of the best Movies like 'A few Good Men', 'Philadelphia' as well as 'Mr Darcy' are law based. Some of the best dramas on T.V. like J.A.G. and 'The Practice' are excellent pieces of work. It’s no wonder then that People adore Perry Mason Novels and John Grisham is one of the most popular writers today.


Going back to the topic, this book was my first Grisham [The first one is always special isn't it? ;-)]. It deals with how a jury decides whether a tobacco company is responsible for the death of smoker. The case has obvious far reaching consequences, and so each side is hell bent on getting a favourable verdict. Two people, with the power to influence the outcome, extort money from both the sides. Just when the reader believes that everything has become predictable, Grisham in his trademark style throws a twist or two in the end. It is an excellent read, quite thrilling from the first page to the last, and a good book to spend some time with.

Compared to this, the movie was quite tame and boring.
Firstly they have changed the theme from Cigarettes to guns, thus alienating non American Viewers.
Secondly, there is a lot of action in the book which can’t be shown in the space of two hours. This leaves the defendants, who looked like the mafia in the book, end up as petty thieves in the movie. The hero ends up looking like an extortionist, instead of the cold, calculating and intelligent man that he is in the book.
Thirdly there is an excellent sub plot in the end, which shows how the girl actually ends up using the money, and then giving it back, which is entirely missing from the Movie.

I am truly sad at the way they have manhandled the book and ended up with a story that in not one hundredth as interesting and riveting as the Book. I truly feel sorry for Dustin Hoffman, who could not salvage the Movie. We can only hope that the Future ‘Da Vince Code’ Movie does not suffer the same fate.