Between the Pages

by Andy Weir

• Fiction
• Science
• Friendship
• Mystery
• Survival

I was really excited to watch the film as this was my favourite book last year, a full five stars. I must admit I was worried about what the film might miss out and whether any of that would be vital to the story. However, I’ve got to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The film really captured the same tone as the book, with humour and tension in equal parts. 

I went along with people who had read the book as well as a few who hadn’t, and it felt like those who hadn’t read it could still enjoy the film just as much. 

In terms of faithfulness, there are some differences, which is to be expected. The film is already two and a half hours long, so it was inevitable that some elements would be left out. But did these missing parts feel like they impacted the story? Not at all. 

The major changes were that in the book the meeting of the alien is a surprise, whereas the film has advertised it from the start. I can understand this choice, as it likely helps draw attention to the film for people who don’t know the book. Another noticeable change was that there wasn’t much shown around the breeding pods that Rocky creates, making it seem like Grace does the majority of the science, which isn’t quite the case in the novel. The final area that differed slightly was right at the end of the story. In the book we find out the outcome for Earth, whereas in the film it is more hinted at rather than stated outright, but I think it still gives enough context to understand. 

Other less obvious changes included the exploration of the DNA strand that allowed people to be put into long-term comas, which explains why the rest of the crew didn’t survive. The relationship between Grace and the rest of the crew was also explored less in the film. There were a few more smaller changes, but I won’t sit here listing them all. 

I don’t think the film particularly added anything new to the story that wasn’t in the book, and honestly, I like it that way. The book is already so detailed that it didn’t need anything extra. 

For a science-fiction story, the science was simplified massively compared to the book. There were some areas in the novel that covered chapters of scientific explanation, which simply wasn’t needed for the film format. 

When I first heard that Ryan Gosling was portraying Grace, I wasn’t completely sure about the casting, but I think it worked really well. Grace isn’t a particularly serious character, and the humour was expressed perfectly through Gosling’s performance. He portrayed both Grace’s personality and his dynamic with Rocky impressively well. 

One thing I enjoyed the most was that Rocky was created as an animatronic rather than being fully CGI. That was really exciting to see, and they truly brought him to life in a very realistic way. The film did a great job of making these characters feel real. 

I don’t recall any characters being added, removed, or changed significantly from the book. They all felt true to the novel. The only difference, as mentioned earlier, was that we didn’t see as much of Grace’s relationship with the rest of the crew. 

The relationship between Grace and Rocky was pure perfection, equal parts humour and genuine friendship, with warmth, jokes and plenty of taking the mic out of each other, all perfectly expressed. 

The parts I was most excited to watch were the scenes between Rocky and Grace. It’s such a special relationship in the book that I was worried the film wouldn’t get the dynamic right, but they absolutely nailed it. 

I also didn’t feel that any major scenes from the novel were missing in the film. 

Similar to Rocky, it was amazing to hear that the spaceship itself was fully built rather than CGI. That meant everything could be interacted with physically, which made all the small details feel important, from the design to the scientific equipment. 

The ship in particular looked exactly how I imagined it from the novel. It was quite a strange experience seeing my mental picture come to life so closely to how it’s described in the book. 

The one area that was arguably improved was the visuals of the planets, something only a film can really bring to life. 

The humour and tension were exactly as described in the book, although I found myself slightly less emotional this time, probably because I already knew what was coming. Instead, there was more excitement in anticipating those moments. 

From experiencing both the book and the film, I still feel the novel contains far more information that really fleshes out the story, something the film simply couldn’t do without becoming extremely long. 

However, the film is a fantastic accompaniment to the book and I’m just as excited by the film as I am by the novel. Although I personally think everyone should read the book, I understand that not everyone enjoys reading science-fiction novels, so it’s great that there’s now a film for those who may never have experienced the story otherwise. 

I would recommend reading the book before watching the film, although as I’ve said before, it isn’t necessary. I’d actually be really interested to hear the perspective of people who watched the film first and then read the book. 

Overall, I think the film is a fantastic and successful adaptation, and one I am excited to both watch and read again.