Adaptations that aren’t a bad representation of the book
There are many opinions of book to movie adaptations. There is nothing better than the book. There are good adaptations and bad
but the original book will always be first for readers. The Housemaid, by Freida McFadden got a movie adaptation that was released in December 2025
staring Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar. The overall reviews for the movie have been positive. Readers and non-readers have enjoyed the movie. “The housemate, the first housemaid, is my favourite of the series, and probably, of the books that I’ve read, my favourite of her books,” Laura Culp, environmental resources technician and avid reader said. “I really did enjoy, the aspect of the back-and-forth; who can we trust? What’s going on kind of behind the scenes?” Kaya Pona, recent McMaster graduate and moviegoer
said. Audience members are sometimes frustrated by the choice of actors and actresses in films based off of movies because they don’t look like the fictional characters that they were imagining in their minds. That didn’t seem to be an issue with The Housemaid.
The author wrote the characters in a way the audience felt properly portrayed the characters, where one has read the book previously or not.
“I feel like for The Housemaid, it was kind of a more generic-styled book that it would be easier to turn into a movie, and, people wouldn’t be upset about any of the acting or the characters or anything like that,” Culp said.
There were some minor changes from the book to the film, this was expected as there are limitations for run time and practicality.
Viewers commented on things like Cece’s wardrobe and the grandmother making a more prominent appearance in the movie. Interactions between characters like Enzo and Mille were cut short; in the book he talks to Millie and tries to help her a lot more.
There are simple things like locations of events or the fact that the cop at the end was originally the father of the ex-fiancé rather than the sister.
As well as larger changes like the punishments that Millie had to go through and the circumstances that got her there were different. For cinematic reasons, it was understood, and readers even found it to be a better choice than the original. Just as well, the way that Andrew dies in the movie differs from the book.
“At first, I didn’t love at the end, how job is to work with, wives whose husbands were like that [abusive]. First, I was kind of like, oh … I obviously didn’t read the book, and I’m not sure what it would have looked like in the book, but that might have been better to, read it,” Pona said.
“I’m planning on seeing it hopefully soon. There’s been books where I have watched the movie and I’ve regretted it. But I don’t think that this is one of them. Like, I think that having not seen the movie yet, I feel like it will probably do it justice,” Culp said.
Some movie adaptations are worth seeing in the end.
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