From "Killings" to IN THE BEDROOM: notes on an adaptation
It is instructive to compare the story strategies of the Dubus short
story "Killings" with the story strategy of the movie based on it,
In the Bedroom.
Story strategy of "Killings"
Story strategy of IN THE BEDROOM
Note the following:
- In the story, an older son suggests the murder.
In the movie, Frank is an only child.
- In the story, Richard kills Frank in front of his sons; in the
movie, the boys are upstairs with their mother.
- In the story, both Matt and Willis kidnap Richard at the bar; in
the story, Matt arrives alone.
- In the story, Richard makes a move to get away when Matt shoots
him; in the movie, he doesn't (although he does in the screenplay).
- The big marital fight between Matt and Ruth is central in the
movie but is not in the story.
What do these differences say about the principles of filmic storytelling?
Note that the changes are in the direction of a tighter focus and
greater simplicity of the central drama.
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