Music plays a large part in films, it can be used to set the mood and do other things, Gary the director used music very well in the first scene to set the tense atmosphere by the jarring music, loud rustling of the dry long grass, shouting and screaming, the splashing of the water when Lennie and George jumped in to get away from the men who were chasing them and the loud breathing of them both. In the novel, we do not become aware of exactly what happens to cause Lennie and George to run away from weed until they arrive at Tyler Ranch which is about chapter three, when George is speaking with Slim, the skinner. A difference in sequences of scenes such as this helps to develop a better understanding of things that have happened in the storyline.
Another advantage a film has is that the use of body language can tell you a lot about a character and what he is like; this is shown by Lennie in the Train. We first see what Lennie is really like when George and Lennie are in the train. George is mad at Lennie and Lennie does not realize that. From Lennie’s ideas, voices and movement we can see he is like a grown up child. This is similar to the book as Lennie is described to be this way but he did not look as big as he was portrayed in the book. We also know Lennie is like a child as when he is in the train he copies everything that George does and that is like when Lennie copies George in the book when they are resting by the river.
The main and greatest difference between the book and the film in that the film has been done retrospectively, we know this because the movie starts with George sitting in a train and finishes with him in the same train so we are watching what had already happened in the past and George is looking back at it all and we can see what he is remembering.
The next scene we studied was when George and Lennie go to get the bus to go to the ranch and also when they arrive at the ranch. After them both get of the train they go to get the bus to go to the ranch. When they are in the village we can see that the film was set in the early 1930 because of the cars and the clothes people were wearing. This is not told to us in the book. When they both get on to the bus we hear a change in music, it is more calm, relaxed, gentle and safe showing that they are in no danger on the bus.
In the book we see Lennie as being unintelligent but strong and good at every thing else. In the film it shows that Lennie is physically strong but it also shows that he is not mentally strong as when George takes the dead mouse away from Lennie, Lennie becomes upset and starts to cry this also is not shown in the book.
In the first chapter of the book Lennie and George are walking together through a valley as the bus driver had dropped them of far from the ranch and then they decide to spend the night there but in the film this comes a lot later on, so there is a big difference in the sequence of scenes as the beginning of the book come later on in the film.
When they arrive at Tyler Ranch we begin to hear country western music. The first person they see is Candy and is dog this shows us that Candy has a relationship with dogs and is also a very lonely person; we are also introduced to Crooks. Then they go to see the boss. Personally I thought that Gary Sinise did not portray the boss as he was in the book. In the book the boss is said to be a normal person but the film shows the betrayal of the boss. They show his as being rude, unattractive and obnoxious which is not true but what he did incorporate that was good and made the scene more enjoyable to watch was that he included humor as Lennie was told not to speak when they re talking to the boss by George but in intervals when George is complementing him he says a few words.
Following the introduction to the boss Lennie and George went to the bunk house which was grey, old dingy, dirty and dreary. This is where Lennie and George encounter the boss’s son Curly for the first time and realize that he is not a pleasant man. The character that played Curly also disappointed me as well, because I imagined him to have curlier hair then he did as in the film his hair is totally flat and to look father like his father but one thing that did come across well was that he was small and violent and he hated tall people. This is most probably true because small people are sociologically described to be aggressive and this is known as Napoleonic Complex.
The next time that Lennie and George met Curly was when Curly was looking for his wife. In this scene Curly comes in angry, looking for his wife and Lennie begins to laugh, but not at Curly, at the dream he is having and Curly misreads his and begins to beat Lennie. Now this scene was very powerfully displayed. Lennie does not retaliate to Curly until told by George to “Do him Lennie.” Then Lennie grabs Curlies hand and in fright does not let go but grips tighter. At this stage we can see a close up of the blood trickling down Curlies had. In order to make this scene more dramatic they have used close ups of the face, blood and music which enhances the action. There was one difference from the book and that was that in the book it says that Curly was flopping like a fish hanging in the air but in the film Lennie pushes him back on to the table and he slams his legs in pain as Lennie brakes every bone in his hand.
Whilst in the barn with one of Slims Puppies, Lennie is by himself, when Curlies wife walked in. She begins to talk to Lennie, but Lennie is afraid and walks away. But Curlies wife reassures him and tells him that she just wants to talk to him. I also realized that she was not as evil or flirty with Lennie as betrayed in the book. But soon she does become a little flirty and says to Lennie that he could touch her hair. Then there was a sudden change from a little stroke to felling and pulling until she started to scream and shout and Lennie kills her. Personally I thought that came across a little fake to me as there was such a sudden change in reaction by Curlies wife. In the book Lennie is scared and in the film he is angry which is quiet a big difference.
Due to all the commotion about the death of Curlies wife Lennie runs away to the place where he was told to go by George if he got in to trouble. Then George ran after him to find him. He found him by the river. I soon realized that the in the last scene, Lennie and George running away from the ranch along with running away from people on horses and guns which is very similar to the beginning if the film where they are running from Weed, this was also due to the music as it was the same as the music when they were running from weed. They both also were in a river which was like when they were hiding in the river to get away from Weed.
George did not get mad at Lennie as he knew that this would be there last convocation together as George was going to kill Lennie. He did this by telling Lennie the dream again to get him excited and than shot him strait in the back of the head which was the exact way that Candy’s dog was killed in the book. I was not to pleased with the ending as it was to quick, in the book this moment lasted for a long time but in the film it was only about five minutes, they also could have shown the tension a little more by showing the trembling of the hand a George lifted the gun or carried the moment on for longer, so it was very rushed. Unlike the book the film did not end there. As Lennie lay on the floor you could hear some sentimental music in the back ground and then it shows some flash backs of him and Lennie together which is all too soppy. The book has a stronger ending and finisher straight after the death of Lennie. And finally the film ends back in the train with George sitting by him self in darkness just like the beginning of the book.
In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film. It helped me to appreciate the basic messages that were not as well addressed in the book. Watching this film gave me a more understandable insight into the author’s plot. I do feel, however, that the film could have been improved. For example, the ending was not elaborated to the same extent as the book, and this was unfortunate as I felt that the ending was meant to finish it off conclusively. Overall, both book and film were a good example of the difficulties in the modern world, and emphasized the importance of friendship.
