"A great novel is concerned primarily with the interior lives of its characters as they respond to the inconvenient narratives that fate imposes on them. Movie adaptations of these monumental fictions often fail because they become mere exercises in interior decoration"

Richard Schickel’s observation highlights the profound distinction between great novels and their often less successful film adaptations. At the heart of great literature lies a meticulous exploration of inner life, the thoughts, feelings, motivations, and emotional responses of characters as they grapple with the challenges and unpredictability that life, or “fate,” presents. The novel thrives on its ability to dwell within the consciousness of its characters, offering readers direct access to their internal struggles, hopes, despairs, and moments of transcendence. Through narration, introspection, and sometimes even stream-of-consciousness techniques, the novel becomes a vessel for the complex, nuanced developments that shape individuals from within.

Film adaptations, by their very nature, are constrained by the visual and external. The medium excels at illustrating the world outside the mind: settings, action, expressions, and interactions. However, it often falters when trying to convey the layers of internal conflict and psychological transformation that define great novelistic characterizations. According to Schickel, such adaptations inadvertently prioritize “interior decoration”, a focus on period-accurate sets, costumes, and aesthetic trappings, over the internal substance that made the source material resonate in the first place. The risk is that films may become beautiful but hollow representations, seducing viewers with surface detail without delving into the intimate, messy realities of human experience.

This critique underscores a broader tension between literature and cinema. While film can imply psychology and emotion through acting and visual metaphor, it struggles to provide the direct immersion into thought and feeling that prose allows. Consequently, when movies attempt to bring monumental novels to the screen, they are often met with a sense of loss: the soul of the story, the lived experience of fate’s inconveniences, is left largely unexamined, overshadowed by the dazzling but superficial pleasures of exterior design.