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In The Book:
Readers know that Vee is a girl who starts off the book working as a make-up girl in the senior musical. She is still living in the shadow of her best friend Syndey, and crushing on the show's male lead, all while juggling a really uncomfortable situation at home. In a struggle to keep her grades up and still have a social life, we find out that one evening after a long studying binge she comes home, pulls the car into the garage and then passes out from exhausting.....with the car still running. Her parents find her - thinking this is a suicide attempt and basically put her under house arrest for the remainder of the year. When we meet Vee her prison sentence is about to be lifted and she can actually start to enjoy what is left of her senior year and still dreaming of attending fashion school.
In The film:
For whatever reason, the filmmakers decided to alter her back story to not only take her dad out of the picture but also give her a late brother who died unexpectedly after graduation. Not too sure what they really think this does to the story, but it is certainly not the worse thing ever. Due to her brother's death, her mom is super overprotective of her and is also struggling to make ends meet. This is forcing Vee to not only pick a college close to her mom but to also live at home for most of her college career. being the dutiful daughter she is willing to take on the risk. We suppose this gives her more of a reason to want to step out of her comfort zone and play the game, but it just felt kind of unnecessary.
In The Book:
Sydney is obnoxious in both the film and the book, but something about her in the film just put her over the top. The book has us meeting Sydney, who is the lead in the senior musical. She is living Vee's dream of getting to make out with the leading man once a night. She is also the one who introduces Vee to the game. Not because she is currently playing it, but because she one day aspires to. She feels way more supportive of Vee in the book and you can kinda understand why these two are actually friends. Yes, she is high maintenance but she is way less bratty.
In The Film:
The movie gives us over the top spoiled brat Syndey right out of the gate. She is so in love with herself it is almost comical. She is a bored rich girl who is currently playing Nerve and is racking up watchers left and right for her no-shame approach to the game. Despite her popularity as head cheerleader, she is still seeking all the attention she can suck up. She throws wild parties while her parents are gone, and she has no problem sleeping with the guy she knows Vee has been crushing on. Her role in the film is amplified 10x compared to her book counterpart.
2. Sydney's Role In The Story
3. Ian
Nerve - The Biggest Differences Between The Book & The Film
5. The Grand Finale
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In The Book:
The book builds and leads us straight into the super F'ed up battle royale-esque final showdown between the top players of the game. They are locked in a room as couples (with one exception) and are not only forced to face the thing that scares them the most in isolation chambers, but are also cut off from the outside world as tensions grow higher and higher. As they start to turn on the weakest link in the room, Vee, the game kicks things up to 11 by giving the players each a weapon and leaves them to decide who show be the next eliminated and which will be the winning team. It is nothing short of intense and that scene alone makes the book worth a read.
In The Film:
The film makes it very clear from the get-go that they are taking this by way of Highlander in that there can be only one. Winner that is. Despite getting to the end of the game, the finalist are forced to decide who should live and die in from of a Roman Colosseum style audience of masked watchers. The suspense is not nearly as drawn out as the book, but it is still fun to see an alternative way things could have happened, plus seeing the way the basically scare/shame everyone into not using the app out of fear of being held accountable for what they support by watching on-line.
By: HFF Ray
Much like with most book to movie adaptations, this one definitely does not improve upon itself with the film, but it does give us another cool twist on the story that the book overlooked. It is still a fun summer film and we do think you should take some time to check it out. However, if you are looking for a fun read that shows how dark the internet can be we highly recommend to pick up a copy of Nerve and read it while hanging out by the pool or beach. It is a fairly quick and easy read and will give you so much more depth to these characters. These are of course not all the changes from the book to the film, but we had to leave something to the imagination, right? Got something you want to point out to the class, then leave it in the comments below.
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Posted 7/28/16
This week the film Nerve hits the big screen. The latest teen book adaptation stars Emma Roberts and Dave Franco in this intense action flick about a bunch of kids wrapped up in an on-line reality game that is like truth or dare minus the truth. You can expect plenty of nail-biting moments and fun with this film, but for those of us who have read the book the film is based on by Jeanne Ryan, you may have noticed things don't work out the same as in the novel. The trailer alone gives you that impression, but that's okay, the film still can stand up on it' own. However, despite that we took some time to point out the biggest changes between the book and the movie. CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD!
4. The Game Itself
1. Vee's Back Story
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In The Book:
While Dave Franco does a pretty spot on job of playing Ian he is certainly not the character we know from the book. In the novel, Ian is tall with long hair and is cruising around a car the whole film. Looking at the photo here shows all the big changes there. Also, Ian's backstory is altered significantly. For example, in the book Ian is playing the game as a means to an end. He wants out of his home life and to be able to pack up and move across the country. We never get the full details about why his home life is so awful, but he is willing to do anything to get out of there. He is pulled to Vee because of the game, but he is drawn to her after spending this insane night with her and growing closer to her through some insane dares.
In The Film:
Ian in the film is a short haired, motorcycle riding bad boy. He has been playing the game for awhile and is determined to win. All he wants to do is come in first place so he can put the game behind him. He has been trapped playing since the last time he played and a kid suffered a terrible accident, which he partially blames himself for. He and Vee team up quickly and even more quickly are lip locked in one of the fastest on-screen romances ever.
In The Book:
The game is almost like its own character that evolves and changes the deeper into the story we go. In the book, the dares are generated by the Nerve company themselves, versus being made by the Watchers. It feels more structured and real. The dares escalate depending on what your prize is and since Nerve is hooked up to basically your entire life, it tailors the prizes to whatever your deepest desire may be. For example, it knows Vee wants to go to Fashion school, so one of her dares is pretty intense, but the prize is a paid tuition to fashion school. So no matter how messed up the dare may seem the prize is always just good enough to make you say, "screw it! I'm in!" that was one of the most interesting parts of the book. Yeah winning cash is nice, but how about an internship with one of the giant fashion magazine you adore or a fully stocked RV so you can drive across the country? The game works smart. And the fact that it is run by actual people instead of the anonymous watchers takes it even further.
In The Film:
The film is all about the benjamins. Every dare is awarded with cash and the dares are selected by the watchers who are constantly watching your every move. This makes some of the dares seem less personal and makes the stakes feel lower than the otherwise would have been. The game in the book sought out your deepest weaknesses but the Film relies on a much more superficial approach to it. it is almost like watching an episode of Jackass at times. Also, the game in the film adds a new choice to the game, you can be a player, a watcher, or a prisoner. prisoners are people who try to expose the game to the world and are then punished being having their lives hacked, forcing them to be a slave to the game.