Credit: Variety
I know! This movie has been out for a month already. Forgive my belated review, but my blog fell down and it couldn’t get up–at least not without the help of my trusty web guy, Dan.
Before my blog was down, I watched The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on Netflix the night it dropped and took lots and lots of notes! I don’t want to waste them, right? 🙂 And folks are still watching for the first time, and discussing it, so here are my thoughts on my freshly debugged bloggy lilypad:
- The book is better, but we knew that going in, didn’t we? It’s always better, except in the case of “Crazy Rich Asians”! It’s true–that movie is better than the book!
- Downton fans rejoice: The presence of not one, not two, not three, but four “Downton Abbey” alums enriched this film: Lily James as Juliet; Matthew Goode, as Juliet’s dashing publisher, Sidney; Jessica Findlay Brown (dearly departed Sibyl!) as dear, possibly departed Elizabeth; Penelope Wilton as book club member Amelia.
Credit: @Zinkerzprep
3.The quote of quotes, which warms the hearts of bookish souls everywhere: “Perhaps there is some sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” Sigh. So true.
4. Lily James’ Juliet is lovely, and much like I imagined her in the book. James is one of my favorites and is warm and engaging here as a young writer, grieving the loss of her parents in the London Blitz just five years before. The girl is still shell-shocked and lonely deep down under her polished veneer. “The world of books is where I found my home,” she says. So it’s no surprise she feels an immediate affinity for the pig farmer who writes her a letter with a question about a book. As if lured by a homing device, Juliet must get to Guernsey. When she is given the assignment to write an article about reading, she decides to write about the eccentric members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a book club started during the Nazi occupation of the island.
5. Both in the book and the movie, we fall in love with Dawsey from his first or second letter to Juliet. Dutch actor Michiel Huisman is Dawsey wish fulfillment: a handsome, rugged farmer who really digs reading. I mean, what else do we have to know? Juliet and Dawsey are pen pals and bookish kindred spirits before they even lay eyes on each other.
Copyright Studiocanal GmbH / Kerry Brown
6. It’s easy to root for dear Juliet to find community and family with the members of the GL&PPPS, as they are so needful of her and she of them. There is crusty Eben, wary Amelia (Penelope Wilton), bubbly Isola, and the ghost of Elizabeth (Jessica Findlay Brown). Because make no mistake–Elizabeth is still a member of the Society, present at every meeting. (By the way, you gotta love a book club that passionately argues whether Jane Eyre or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the better book!)
7. Guernsey! Oh my stars. How gloriously beautiful is this island in the English Channel, closer to France than to England (hence the Nazi occupation). Filmmakers maximize the vistas of silvery waves and craggy cliffs, with scenes that surely placed the island on countless travel bucket lists. I want to pack my bags now and live there forever with Juliet, Dawsey, and the unicorns.
8. Juliet’s NASTY landlady makes insinuations about the missing Elizabeth’s character, and Juliet begins to wonder what actually happened to the vanished book club member. She feels a strong tug to Elizabeth, and her heart breaks for Elizabeth’s little daughter, Kit, being cared for by Dawsey. (Because who can resist a man who willingly loves another man’s child as his own?)
When Juliet finds out the truth, that Elizabeth fell in love with a German soldier and was arrested for helping another soldier, a starving teenager, Juliet trusts her new friends enough to know that if they accepted Christian, he must have been a good guy.
My biggest beef with the movie? Christian, the German soldier, is intriguing and compelling in the book, but here he is a woefully underdeveloped blip. Maybe I was so fascinated with Christian because several of my uncles were forcibly conscripted into the German army as teenagers. They were literally the starving teenage soldiers Elizabeth helped! I know they were presented with the choice–be a soldier for the German Army or die. I’m sad when I think about how they suffered at such a tender age.
Christian and Elizabeth’s relationship was captivating in the book, too, so it is a shame it was nearly AWOL in the movie.
9. As a writer, I related to Juliet. Her fears in writing the book of her heart (“What if I’m not a good enough writer?”) and how the story overtakes her until she has swollen eyes and a crick in her neck. She pours everything she has into this once-in-a-lifetime story and it’s inspiring to witness her zeal. But will this important work ever see the light of day?
10. The movie has been praised for being lovely and charming–comfort food for the spirit. It’s also been panned for being predictable, and not challenging or provocative enough.
Both critiques are true. I loved cuddling up to this film in my living room. It made laugh and tear up. The scenery! The Downton Abbey folk! And the wondrous statement it makes about books, readers, and the reading life. “You already know what books can do,” Juliet says. We do. Books transport us to magical places like Guernsey we may never visit but wish we could. They cultivate deep kinships with characters we will never meet but know in the deepest corners of our souls. That’s what the Guernsey book did for me. Too bad the movie didn’t stretch far enough to do the same.
What did YOU think of the movie?
Hi Lorilee! Thanks for sharing your fun and insightful analysis! I loved the book and when I curled up to watch the movie, I thought, yeah, this could be great. The previews looked good. The story, the actors, the setting — all ingredients for a movie I would want to own and watch again and again. (I am stingy about watching movies more than once.) I agree. It just wasn’t as good as the book. But, I totally love #9 and #10. Charming. Comfort food for the soul! Love that. Thanks for the tip about Crazy Rich Asians. Movie was fun. I’ll skip the book.
Hi Beth, Thank you for your kind words, and yes–could have been so fantastic but didn’t quite make it!
Hi Lorilee –
I enjoyed the movie as well. It was slow and sweet, a nice change from so many busy movies. The ‘ugly American’ fiance always makes me a bit sad, but I guess every plot has to have a few obstacles/villains. It’s been several years since I read the book, so I had forgotten the bit about the German soldier, but it did come back to me upon viewing. I thought it was a lovely adaptation.
Yes, I liked the movie, but loved the book. The movie just left so much out. It felt like a tidy summery of the story, just scratching the surface of what was in the book.
I read the books years ago and loved it. Reread it before I watched the movie. Still enjoyed the movie but I feel like some of the cuts were detrimental. I would of enjoyed seeing Juliet correspond with the member of the society more before deciding to visit. Have her stay in Elizabeth’s cottage (therefore looking after kit, so we can see what an ass mark is when he comes to visit) I can see why much of the changes were made but these I felt should of stayed. Also I don’t know if I missed something or what but what where the blue pieces of paper Juliet found in Dawsey’s Charles lamb book? Anyone?
They were her letters back to him
But the blue letters looked typed?
Agreed — I wondered about those blue papers, too, and they were typed. It seems that she only handwrote her letters to Dawsey. Going to have to watch again! Darn. ;-}
Some of her letters in the movie was type-written. Well at least there’s one scene where she typed her letter. I think it’s the last letter prior to visiting Guernsey.
Too bad I have not read the book but now I will! Seems there’s more to Elizabeth and Christian in the book and I’d like to understand.
In the movie Christian was a doctor but in the book, he’s a soldier?
I adore the Mark character. Yes, I know he isn’t meant to be the hero, but goodness, he is good looking, well-dressed, respectful, fun, a good dancer, direct and yet sensitive to people and situations. He was the real keeper!