Chaos Walking (2019) [initial thoughts]
I’ve just discovered that some of my favourite books are going to be made into a movie to be released next year. The Chaos Walking trilogy is a series of novels by author Patrick Ness (author of A Monster Calls) that I read a few years ago and am now starting to read again. In a quick Google search I discovered that these books are being made into one movie to be released next year. With a director (Doug Liman) and cast (such as Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley) already established, I was very taken aback by this news and I’m really not sure how to feel about it.
I won’t give away too much of the plot for these books because this isn’t a review so much as it is a general musing on what I think of the announcement of the movie itself. However if you haven’t read the books and you want to then I would advise not reading any further until you have read at least the first book as I don’t think I can avoid all spoilers (provided you don’t want even the slightest detail spoiled). I also cannot recommend the books enough so if you’re even just a little curious then I suggest buying the first book pictured above (which can cost as little as £2.80 used on Amazon if you’re in the UK) and having a read through. As a fan of the Chaos Walking trilogy, I think it’s only natural to be sceptical about the movie adaptation or even scared as to how it might turn out. Generally speaking I think the consensus for movie adaptations is that more often than not, the books are better. This I think is usually down to the leniency books have in that they’re not limited to the amount of story that they can tell or the pages they can contain, whereas a movie, especially one made for cinema viewing, has rules to the length it can be. Now these books aren’t exactly Lord Of The Rings in terms of popularity and with those movies being 3-4 hours long each as a result of one book, I can’t see Chaos Walking as a singular movie from three books really trying to be pushed to that long. Rather I can see this movie totalling around an hour and half to possibly two and a half hours at a stretch. So we’re bound to get a lot of condensed story telling and I suppose that’s just what happens when you adapt a book into a movie and is the reason a lot of people say “the book was better” to a lot of these adaptations. Maybe if there was one movie dedicated to each book, the story might be told a bit better. However this isn’t the case and a format like that might even hinder the success and enjoyment of the movie. Let’s talk about casting. As star-studded as it is I would particularly like to talk about the two main characters: Todd and Viola played by Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens). I like these people as actors and in the right circumstances I think they could work well together. Despite this though, I wonder if this is the right circumstance. Their characters in these books are supposed to be, by our own standards, children (or very early teens, to put it another way). Now I understand that casting children/young teens in movies, especially as the main characters, is a tough business because more often than not, they aren’t any good. However the fact that this movie has cast a 21 year old and a 25 year old as characters who are supposed to be around 14 years old is something I can’t imagine I’ll take to and it’s not even as though they could dance around this fact because the age of the characters is so integral to the plot of this series. If this factor was however taken away then I would be incredibly disappointed. There is no way I would be able to suspend disbelief enough to reasonably accept these two actors, who are in their own respects incredibly talented individuals, as young teenagers. There would have to be something major done to the appearance of these actors for me to think they looked the part because just looking at the only picture I can find of the movie, I couldn’t look at it and say they looked like 14 year old’s.
Another factor I believe will be incredibly difficult to replicate and also another very important plot point (as it’s really one of the key aspects of the books) is the communication of the Noise (or the physical and auditory manifestation of the thoughts of men). This is going to be a movie that will not be able to have a quiet moment as long as it’s running. Because for the most part, the atmosphere is filled with Noise. I’m incredibly curious and confused as to how Liman thinks he’ll be able to pull this off. Not only the Noise itself but the spoken words of characters in contrast with the surrounding Noise; how he’ll choose to control the volume and prominence of each sound. It is stated early on in the first book that specific Noise depends on the people or animals it comes from. For example, in the swamp it is said to be “quiet” however this is only in comparison to the volume from the town. In the pub, it is easy to hear the Noise from outside because of the people inside it; so loud in fact it is remarked upon that even the music the pub is playing is overpowered by the Noise of those inside. As well as volume control, I wonder how Liman will tackle the personality of each characters’ Noise. Each character emits Noise that is unique to them and what they’re thinking. Some Noise is loud and messy and some thoughts overpower others from the same person resulting in a scramble of sound that although can be distinguished, is also muddled as if people are talking over one another. Other Noise however can be neat and orderly from the men who’ve learned and trained to control it. My issue with this is that, though this contrast is portrayed well in the books, I’m unsure of how it would work in a movie when portraying perhaps: a character that, though their Noise was quite jarred and on paper was physically wobbly, had it in one track in order to convey a solid and coherent message to another character prominently over the rest of his Noise. In comparison to possibly: a character such as the Mayor, of whom is explicitly in control of his own Noise, so much so that the physical wording on paper is very neat and tidy in order to show this. In terms of how characters are portrayed, I like them in the books very much and I like that the stories are told in first person. However I do acknowledge that the way in which certain things are said aren’t considered proper English as the books are littered with spelling errors and words that are pronounced wrong because it’s told in first person by a character whom cannot read well and was never properly educated. In the movie, I feel this is a factor that can’t be overlooked and as a result of this might result in clunky dialogue and conveyance in a way that might get annoying.
Surely there’s always an internal struggle within readers when they discover their favourite book is being adapted to a movie. As a fan and someone who has invested time and love into reading these works of artistic literature, you want the movie to be good (if you even want it made at all). More than that, you want it to be fantastic. It should be true to the source material and I would expect the people involved in making it to have as much passion for the books as I (as well as other readers) do or that the author had for writing them. I want Chaos Walking to be as good as it can possibly be and I want it to reflect the books. Obviously not word for word and shot for shot but I want this movie helmed by someone who loves the books and has read them all cover to cover and having been almost 10 years since the first book ‘The Knife Of Never Letting Go’ was published, I see no reason as to why that is not ample time to get to know each book intimately. As well as this, I would hope that Patrick Ness himself had a say in what was happening in the movie instead of taking a back seat and letting the director get on with it. Chaos Walking, to me, isn’t a movie I think needs to be made. It works well as a series of books and I don’t know how it will break from them to condense into one movie. However I hope I’m proved wrong and that it goes on to be an amazing piece of cinema like it has the potential to be. I just don’t want to see it done poorly (because I will see this movie) or mismanaged. The story of these books is wonderfully original and I enjoyed reading every page so I’m interested in how the movie will differ from others to set itself apart by use of the cinematography, editing, acting, colour use, etc. Because it deserves to be set apart from everything else purely by story alone. Now I don’t have a lot of experience with Doug Liman as a director. I have seen Edge Of Tomorrow, which I thought was good though not hugely original and I’ve seen Jumper which was… Well that wasn’t too great let’s be honest. Liman is also directing Marvel’s Gambit to be released next year as well which I am also excited for. Hopefully they both turn out great and aren’t hurt by the other in terms of how much dedication Liman shows each of them in order to make them the best they can be.
In summary and in truth, I am scared for Chaos Walking as a movie but I am also intrigued and hopeful. I just want the trilogy to be done justice and I’m excited to see how it’s done. I know I’ve not given a lot away in terms of what the story is about but as I said, this isn’t a review; I just wanted to be able to articulate my thoughts on the matter. If you’ve read this far then I thank you and I ask: what are your thoughts on this upcoming movie as a concept? If you’ve read the books, are you excited for Chaos Walking? Do you hate the idea and just want them to stay as books? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Such interesting thoughts that I share - trying to approach the movie with an open mind and positivity, but it is a little difficult
