Interview with the Vampire and Minority Report- Original Text vs. Film Adaptation

In our class discussion yesterday, we briefly compared Anne Rice’s, Interview with the Vampire, with the film adaptation of the book. It was interesting that the book’s plot slightly differed from the film. Rice’s original version of Louis’ early life story was altered in the film. Instead of his brother tragically dying, as written within the book, in the film, Louis dealt with the loss of his beloved wife and child. Interestingly, the class agreed that the loss of a wife and child was considerably more tragic than the loss of a brother or sibling. It seems like the loss of a wife and child tugs at the heart strings of movie goers far more than the loss of a brother ever could. Knowing that a man has fallen in love, started a family and built a life of his own, only to suddenly lose that life, defines tragedy in our culture. In a sense, it also defines romance. Often times in film, it seems like there is nothing more romantic than the death of a lover.

This is also evident in the film Minority Report. The film incorporates a tragic element into Anderton’s life story, the loss of his young son. In addition, the film depicts how this heartbreaking loss ultimately led to a divorce with his wife, a woman who he cared for deeply and had a happy, loving life with. This added plot twist, however, was not in Philip K. Dick’s original short story at all. It seems that it was placed within the film to allow the audience to further identify and sympathize with the main character.