Charismatic answers “I absolutely loved this movie and didn't...”

Yvonne deSousa asked this question about Winter's Bone:

I absolutely loved this movie and didn't even know it was based on a book. Will the fact that I've seen and loved the movie spoil the book for me? Is it worth checking out if already know the movie version of the story?

Charismatic Books and film are different media, and books are the source for a majority of films. (It is a rare film anymore that has a totally original script no…moreBooks and film are different media, and books are the source for a majority of films. (It is a rare film anymore that has a totally original script not based on a novel, play or comic book.)

In this case, both the film AND source novel are very good and I think, compliment each other. As Barbara says below, the novel is obviously more detailed and explains a lot of backstory -- things I really didn't pick up on in the movie.

However, a film has an advantage in being visual -- setting a mood -- establishing a place and time -- that a novel doesn't quite do as well (or maybe I should say "it does it, but with words vs. images and we humans are very visually oriented"). For example: the film succeed a lot because of a fine performance from a young Jennifer Lawrence... her beauty, the way her emotions read on her face. The protagonist in the novel isn't described much and certainly not as a classic beauty. This affects what we think about her and how we identify with her.

The things the novel does better -- again, backstory. I didn't pick up at all in the film that the Dolly family and others in the region were so isolated because of their fairly bizarre religious beliefs. The film doesn't get into the shocking sexual abuse that Ree endures, being molested by uncles and cousins from a very young age and how that would have formed her personality.

Also my recollection is that when I saw the film (which indeed I saw first), I believed it was set in Appalachia -- West Virginia, probably -- but in fact it is set in a very remote part of Missouri -- not the same culture at all. (less)

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