Jonn Griffin 4/19/2009

Of Mice and Men – Book and Movie

Review
Throughout my school career, I have read several different books, some good while others not as

much. When I was told we had to read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, I was skeptical on how good

the book would really be. But after reading it, I thought it was one of the best books I have ever read. I

felt like there was a magnetic force between me and the book that forced me to keep reading to see what

would happen. With most good books, they usually turn the book into a movie. There was a movie that

was created based off the book, directed by Gary Sinise. With creating this movie, Gary had different

perspectives based off the book and was portage in the movie.

When creating the movie there were many scenes that were right from the book but others that

were very different. For example the very first scene in the movie shows a flashback with George sitting

on the freight train thinking. The movie also ended with the same scene which was how we could tell it

was a flashback. One of the biggest differences between the movie and the novel is the ending. In the

book the ending was very elongated when George was about to kill Lennie. George would put the rifle

near his head and then take it down and stuttered several times before actually pulling the trigger. From

this it created a sad ending in the book because you could tell George didn’t want to shoot him but he

knew he had to. In the movie it was the complete opposite. As George was sitting by the rock talking with

Lennie out of nowhere there was a shot from George and Lennie laid there dead. With George quickly

killing Lennie I felt like I didn’t get the same sad emotion as when I read the book. Another good

example of a difference between the book and movie is during the scene in Crook’s room. During the

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conversation between Lennie and Crooks both Candy and Curley’s Wife enter in the movie but not in the

book. With this scene we see a new side of Curley’s Wife. Gary Sinise, the director, made the wife have a

racist side toward blacks. In the movie another huge difference was a whole new scene created by the

director. In this scene Lennie and George are working the field and appears Curley’s Wife acting very

lonely and bored. Throughout the movie she is very bored and always says, “What am I not allowed to

talk to nobody?” No one talks to her because they don’t want to start trouble with Curley. As there are

many differences in the book there are also many similarities. For example, one of the biggest similarities

from the book to the movie is when Candy’s dog gets shot. When I was reading the book I pictured it

exactly like it was shown in the movie and I felt the movie betrayed the scene very well. It showed how

heart stricken Candy was since he no longer has the dog that has been with him for years. Another good

scene that shows similarity between the book and the movie is Lennie’s and Curley’s fight. This fight was

a very graphic scene in the book and was betrayed very well in the movie. In the book it talks about how

Lennie grabs a hold of Curley’s hand and the blood dripped down the hand and was shown exactly in the

movie.

In the movie there were many actors that betrayed there part very well while others didn’t. A

person that played there role very well was John Malkovich who played Lennie. He played an excellent

role as Lennie from his appearance and how he acted. In the book Lennie was a semi-retarded person

from how he talked and acted. In the movie John did this exactly. Whenever he had to speak he spoke as

if he was really ‘slow’. Along with this he had both facial and bodily jesters of a semi-retarded person

which helped delivered his lines in a convincing manor. I would consider Lennie as a very sympathetic

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guy. He was like a big cuddly giant that wouldn’t harm a fly. George, being the main individual in his

life, he was very caring for him and acted like he was his brother. I think John Malkovich was a good

actor for his role as Lennie because when I pictured Lennie while reading the book, I pictured him. An

actor form the movie that I felt didn’t betray the character from the book good at all was Curley’s Wife,

which was acted by Sherilyn Fenn. I felt she didn’t do a good job with her role because in the book the

wife was supposed to be a flirt, mean and a nasty person. In the film Sherilyn played the character as a

conservatively nice girl. Since she was acting very conservatively and lonely she had effective

expressions and gestures. She always seemed very lonely and just wanted to have conversation with

another human being. From having this image as the ‘tramp’ I feel she delivered her lines very good.

When she spoke it sounded as if she wanted to have an affair with Curley with another guy. During the

scene in Crook’s room you could see a different side of Curley’s Wife. You saw a racist woman that

wasn’t sympathetic towards blacks. When reading I pictured a woman that that looked almost just like

Sherilyn Fenn but different hair. I pictured a woman with more wild and crazy-like hair.

One of the reasons I liked the film as much as I did was due to the good camera angles, lighting

and music that drew my attention towards the film. One of the best scenes I feel that demonstrates good

camera angles was chase in the beginning of the movie. When watching the movie it made me as if I was

the one actually being chased and actually running away. Another scene that showed excellent camera

angles was when Lennie killed Curley’s Wife. What made this scene very affective was the camera being

positioned far out. From this, you could see how much bigger and powerful Lennie was than Curley’s

Wife. Along with good camera angles it’s also necessary for good lighting that sets the mood for the

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scene. In the movie a good scene that demonstrates this is in the bunk house. In the bunk house they have

lanterns that light the place, which is how it would have been during the time period the book was

written. Having a good movie it is necessary to have music that matches what is happening in the film.

For example, when everyone was working in the field the music was very upbeat and happy. During the

chase in the beginning of the movie the music was very frantic and suspenseful. One of the best scenes

that demonstrates good use of music and sound is during Lennies death. During his death you could hear

in the background people shouting trying to find him and progressing closer towards his location. It

wasn’t until just a few moments after Lennie died, the men arrived to his location.

If I had to choose a favorite scene in the book and in the movie I would choose the same scene,

the fight between Lennie and Curley. In my opinion this scene was one of the most auctioned packed

scenes in the whole book. As I was reading the book, every detail would pop out into my imagination as I

was trying to picture it. Another reason I felt this scene was my favorite because it was a sudden twist in

the book where I wanted to know the outcome. In the movie, this scene was betrayed better then how I

imagined it. For example, when Lennie grabs a hold of Curley’s hand you could see the blood coming

down his arm from his hand. While this was happening you could see the furiousness of Lennie by his

face expression. At the same time you could see how much pain he was inflicting on Curley with him

screaming, sweating and tearing in the face. If I had to describe this scene in one word I would describe it

as karma. In the whole book Curley has an image of the big bad tough bully that likes to pick on people.

But in this scene Curley is the one that got himself into a mess where he is the one being inflicted with

pain.

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 Of Mice and Men in my opinion makes a better book then a movie. I feel it makes a better book

because it tells the story better. With a book you are potentially making a movie as you are reading the

novel and it’s your own. You can imagine people your way; imagine how they act, how they talk, and

how the setting looks. It isn’t an easy thing to do while reading but once you are able to power the gift of

a good imagination the reading world becomes a whole new world. It becomes a world where you picture

it, and no one can say differently.

In the book there are several different themes it demonstrates. One good example of a theme it

demonstrates well is friendship. The two main characters, George and Lennie, have a friendship that is

unbeatable. Throughout the book it might seem like George is annoyed with Lennie and doesn’t like him,

but George puts up with him because they have chemistry. In the movie the director shows this well by

after having a hard day at work on the field, as they walk away into the distance Lennie puts his arm

around George almost hugging him. Their relationship is so strong if an outside viewed them, they would

think they are brothers but that isn’t the case here. Another theme that is demonstrated in the book is to

dream. From the beginning of the book George and Lennie both dreamed about living on a little ranch,

having their own home, and to tend rabbits. There is a difference from just dreaming and trying to

accomplish your dream. George and Lennie where the guys that’s had a dream, and set their goals to try

to accomplish their dream, and was almost successful.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was the best book I have ever read. This book was one of

my favorite books because in my opinion had everything a good book should have. It had a good plot that

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was interesting and entertaining. The story had several themes that portrayed how people have life

dreams and how important a good friendship is.