And If I Could Reverse It I Don't Think It Would Be Worth It, I Know In My Heart I Would Never Let You Tumble To The Ground, No I'll Never Let You Go

--"Fell Down The Stairs", Tilly and the Wall

My friend Slicks recently informed me that plans have been made to bring One Day to the big screen. It will star Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess as Emma and Dexter, respectively.

I'm ecstatic that they will be filming this adaptation of what has quickly grown to be one of my favorite novels. However, I'm very much paranoid that it will not live up to the source material. So much can go awry when making an adaptation and I have already grown so attached to the particular view I have of everything contained within the book's pages. I'm worried that should the tiniest detail not live up to the perspective by which I read the book my suspension of disbelief shall waver. From the subtle shade of Emma's hair to the way I pictured Dexter's face screwing itself up in some scenes--I have a lot invested into the way I see the story playing out.

Yet nothing is more paramount to me than the idea that the story line in all its triumphs and tragedies be preserved in its entirety. I don't want to see any of the heartache softened or the crescendos muted. I know some of the book's lengths will possibly have to be sacrificed, but the overall arc simply must play out the way it plays out in the book. With books like this, with their patterning after the whole scope of a human being's life the temptation will be to see it as either a gradual ascension or descent. But such a trajectory does not fit with the theme and motifs of the story. One Day is about two people who really see the scope of life and not just in one direction. With every bout of success there is a dash of loss to go with it; and with every milestone of tragedy there's some real growth to accompany it. It would be a shame if any involved with the film were to whittle the twistiness of the pair's path into something more linear.

I'm especially worried about Dexter. As I was explaining to someone before, the magic of Dexter is that he's atypical of characters of his type. He starts off as this pretty boy college graduate who basically has success, fortune, and fame handed to him. But rather than have him suffer this cataclysm of misfortune, and rather than have him get his comeuppance, the book does something trickier. Dexter goes through a slow fade of everything he ever wanted. He doesn't lose his success, his fortune, or his fame overnight. He loses a bit at a time by committing smaller mistakes of pride and arrogance. That's what I found compelling about his character. At the end of the day there isn't this one regret he can point to and say this is the day it all started going downhill; there's just a bunch of days where he wishes could've turned out just a bit better. This mirrors more closely the typical human experience. This is the quality of the character that I hope they preserve.

I mean--Emma's story isn't any less difficult to maintain. It's just that Emma's slow suffering and eventual rise to some kind of peace is more ordinary in comparison. A lot of movies have that person you're rooting for, that woman who suffers indignity after indignity, feeling trapped by a life she never thought she'd fall into. A lot of movies have characters who don't or can't aspire to better things because they feel undeserving. And a lot of movies have these types of characters slowly draw themselves up in order to soar by the end. That's Emma's arc, which I admit would be run of the mill if it weren't for the fact that it's put in direct comparison to Dexter.

Honestly, that's what I think that makes this story so unique. The two of them are never in the same place in their lives--even after they get together as a couple. They're never complete in sync emotionally, romantically, or even intellectually. And yet they still manage to find each other through their seeming incompatibility.

True, they spend a lot of time complaining about how the timing's always off between the two of them. Yet in the end, even though the timing isn't quite right and even though the stars never quite align for them, they push through to each other anyway. They realize there's never going to be a perfect time to do what they want in life or to be with the person they want to be with; you've just got to make the best of what you got. Most importantly, they learn that with the things that matter to you or should matter to you, you just can't wait. You really have to go out there and grab whatever it is you think will make you happy before the thing (or person, sadly) isn't there anymore to be grabbed.

This is why I'm hoping they don't mess with one beat of the novel's story because anything less than that pitch-perfect kind of tone and sentiment will be a great disservice to a pound-for-pound masterpiece of a literary romance.

Yours Swimmingly,
mojo shivers