movie v book- Carnal Innocence
Oh, Lifetime, when will you stop making bad Nora Roberts’ movies? I mean, really now. Granted, this one wasn’t as terrible as some of them (*coughMontanaSkyMidnightBayoucough*) but it wasn’t a real winner either. I guess I’d almost maybe pair it up with Carolina Moon. It came close to the book and I guess that is all that I will settle for now.
I have no idea why they chose to make Caroline so…I don’t even know. She did nothing. Just stood around behind Tucker. She wasn’t given much of anything to do. And God Lifetime, why not just have voiceovers? We need the backstory. If I didn’t already know about the book, I would have been confused. Why was Tucker a suspect? Why was Austin? How the hell did Austin get of jail? Why did Cy want to work for Tucker? Why would we think Dwayne (who was barely shown at all) to be a suspect? Why did Josie do the things she did?
And why did you take away Toby’s family? You didn’t do enough to make him interesting. He just stood around and said nothing. WTF.
I like that they didn’t hack the characters too much, meaning they kept all three Longstreets, the cheating Darleen (though, where was her baby?) and that the Sheriff’s wife was Caroline’s friend. But damn it. Why act like Caroline grew up there? Or would have met Tucker before as a child?
Why couldn’t we see the pond named Sweetwater? I mean, hello, that’s the name of the place where they live. That scene with Tucker and Dwayne was ridiculous. It was like two feet from the fountain and then how the fuck did Tucker NOT see the floating dead body? IT WAS THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. That is why that worked better in the book. It was nighttime, at the pond. Urgh.
They do not do near enough to show how run down and exhausted Caroline was. Or that she was starting to stand up for herself more. And she did not give up her career at the end, jackasses. She decided to go on tour, for herself. And Tucker said he’d go when he could.
Why they’d take out the part where Austin beats the crap out of Tucker? And where did his other children/wife go? They should have kept that scene in the book, when Austin becomes a fugitive, it answers the question of why he’s on the run and it was pretty comical.
I feel like this story wanted to hit all the major points but it didn’t flow right. So, his sister is a murderer, tries to kill his girlfriend, he beats uselessly at her door, then breaks the glass when she pulls the trigger, dies in his arms, then the next thing you know, him and Caroline are sitting by the pond saying I love you? WHAT. In the book, it had been a week since all that occurred when she found him, he said that he wasn’t sure she’d want to see him, that he was struggling with his feelings in regards to his sister, and how he didn’t want to lose Caroline. That he’d go on tour when he could and then they said I love you. It plays better on paper, I guess.
God knows the struggle between Josie and Caroline was ridiculous. Talk about no drama whatsoever.
Gabrielle Anwar (who I love) didn’t have much to do, did she? Just stand around and say nothing. Unbelievable. And after Caroline killed Austin two feet inside her front door, she had NO reaction. Nothing. Holy crap movie. Are they all robots? I mean really. They tried to have drama with Tucker yelling at his brother, but we got no real reason for that. We didn’t see how Tucker was trying to take care of everyone. It was just thrown together.
And why the hell was the fireplace going when it was supposed to be summer?
I just, can’t. I laughed my ass off at the end, like wtf, are they for real?
But after 8 other movies to foreshadow this one, I guess I can move on? I mean I hated those movies (save Carolina Moon) with a deep seeded passion. I have major issues with the butchering of Montana Sky and Midnight Bayou. So I knew my expectations should be very, very low.
But this one, despite the fact that it's my favorite stand alone of hers, didn’t annoy as much as the others. Maybe because it was only one as opposed to four? Or that I’ve grown used to being unhappy with the movies.
I don’t know, but it’s a nice feeling to know that this movie, while bad, didn’t deter my love for the book.
That being said, maybe turn one of her trilogies into a mini series? Maybe then it will suck less? How long can a mini series be anyway?
And God help us all, if they ever do make an In Death movie. I suspect the gloves will really come off then. :p