book-to-screen adaptations you need to watch: films

film recommendations adapted from books

This is part 2 of my ‘Book to Screen Adaptations’ series where I share some of my favorite book adaptations - this time focusing on films.

Obviously many of these are already well-known, and this also isn't an exhaustive list. It’s mostly a mix of dramas, rom-coms, and thrillers, as those are my favourite genres to watch. Similarly to my TV show post, these are films that I felt were adapted well from the source material.

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The Virgin Suicides (Coppola, 1999)

A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid 1970s.

Adapted from: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides.

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I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Kaufman, 2020)

Full of misgivings, a young woman travels with her new boyfriend to his parents' secluded farm. Upon arriving, she comes to question everything she thought she knew about him, and herself.

Adapted from: I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid.

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Love, Rosie (Ditter, 2014)

Rosie and Alex have been best friends since they were 5, so they couldn't possibly be right for one another...or could they? When it comes to love, life, and making the right choices, these two are their own worst enemies.

Adapted from: Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern

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Gone Girl (2014, Fincher)

Nick Dunne discovers that the entire media focus has shifted on him when his wife, Amy Dunne, mysteriously disappears on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary.

Adapted from: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

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Call Me By Your Name (2017, Guadagnino)

It's the summer of 1983, and 17-year-old Elio is spending the days with his family at their villa in Lombardy, Italy. He soon meets Oliver, who's working as an intern for Elio's father. Together they discover the heady beauty of awakening desire.

Adapted from: Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

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Eileen (2023, Oldroyd)

A young woman working at a boys' corrections facility becomes mesmerised by the new female psychologist, but their budding relationship soon takes a sinister turn.

Adapted from: Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

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Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001, Maguire)

Bridget, a single woman, writes a diary focusing on how she wants to change her life. However, after two romantic encounters, her perspective changes drastically.

Adapted from: Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

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Pride and Prejudice (2005, Wright)

Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?

Adapted from: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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Unpregnant (2020, Goldenberg)

After discovering that she is pregnant, 17-year-old Veronica, along with her friend Bailey, sets out on a road trip to Albuquerque in New Mexico to have an abortion.

Adapted from: Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan

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The Great Gatsby (2013, Luhrmann)

A writer and wall street trader, Nick Carraway, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age.

Adapted from: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Stardust (2007, Vaughn)

In a countryside town bordering a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.

Adapted from: Stardust

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The Hunger Games (series) (2012-2023, Lawrence, Ross)

Every year, two children, one boy and one girl, from the 12 districts of Panem are selected to participate in a compulsory televised death match called ‘The Hunger Games’, a spectacle of brutality and survival orchestrated by the powerful to maintain their grip on the weak.

Adapted from: The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Read my post about some of my favourite book to TV show adaptations here: