Movie Review: Holes

For my movie review, I chose to read the book Holes by Louis Sachar and then watch the Disney movie production afterward. Although I usually find that the book version of a story is much better than the movie version, I have to say that the movie in this case was done very well and was almost equally as good as the book. I was very satisfied with the way the movie portrayed the story told in the book. There were a few exceptions to the movie that left it at second place in my opinion though.

In a book, the detail that is given in order to paint a picture in one’s mind can never really be matched in a movie. I think it would be difficult for someone making a movie to add in specific details to elicit the same emotions from the audience that are drawn out while reading a book. There are just some things that can not be placed in the movie to cause the same reactions.

I think the casting director made great choices for characters, especially for the warden, Mr. Sir, and Dr. Pendanski. The other “delinquents” at the camp were also played by very fitting characters. Although, Stanley Yelnats was described in the book as being overweight and, what seemed to be, a little more lonely than he was portrayed in the movie, I think Shia LaBeouf played the perfect part. His character was very believable and I quickly felt a connection with his character as I did in the book version of Holes.

While there were minor differences in the movie from what I imagined while reading the book, the one major scene of the movie that seemed much different for me while watching the movie was when Stanley goes after Zero into the desert. While I read the book, I felt an immense amount of empathy for the boys. Their struggle seemed unimaginable and I wondered how they could have survived with no water until they reached “God’s thumb” and barely any food. While I was reading the book I found myself feeling a little anxious and wondering if they would be okay. Usually main characters don’t ever die, but I questioned what would happen to them. So, while I felt very attached to the characters in the book and couldn’t put it down until

I knew they would be safe, the movie didn’t give me the same feelings. Perhaps it’s because I already knew they would be okay, but I think that if I were to have just watched the movie, their struggle and journey to and from God’s thumb wouldn’t have been as believable. In the movie, Stanley and Zero don’t show as much desperation as I imagined in their eyes in the book. Their journey to and from Camp Green Lake did not seem as far or painful and I noticed I wasn’t as worried that they wouldn’t make it.

Besides a few minor setting details, another difference between the book and the movie was the way in which the boys’ relationships were portrayed. While reading the book I felt that Stanley had a much more difficult time getting along and fitting in with the other boys of Camp Green Lake. Throughout the book, I felt that Stanley was much lonelier, while in the movie it seemed like Zero was really the outcast of the group. In the book, I felt worse for Stanley’s character than in the movie.

Again, I think it’s hard to replicate the same feelings from a book as from a movie, nevertheless the movie did include all of the most important scenes from the book. I liked how the movie switched back and forth from the present day with Stanley Yelnats IV at the dried out lake to the days with his great great grandfather, Madame Zeroni, Kissin’ Kate Barlow, and Sam. The scenes all came together very nicely and made sense to the audience just as the book did.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and thought that the movie complimented it well. I recommend that people read the book before viewing the movie in order to really have a feel for the characters and their emotions.