Netflix East of Eden Adaptation can fix the main problem of the original film. The 1955 film adapted John Steinbeck's classic novel of the same name, starring James Dean as Caleb "Cal" Trask, for which he received a posthumous Academy Award nomination. His story explores the Trask and Hamilton families over the course of multiple generations in an epic tale that serves as a retelling of the biblical story of Cain and Abel and as an exploration of the American Dream and free will.
In addition to Dean's posthumous nomination, Elia Kazan received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director and Jo Van Fleet, who played Cathy Ames, won for Best Supporting Actress. With that, there is a lot of expectation for its modern retailing. East of Eden is now being adapted as a Netflix limited series starring Florence Pooh as CathyWhile Poor things Star Christopher Abbott is in talks to play Cal's father, Adam Trask. Zoe Kazan is writing and executive producing the project and has a chance to improve on her grandfather's classic film.
The East of Eden movie skips nearly half of the book
Critical context is missing in this movie
The East of Eden The film begins when Cal and his brother, Aron Trask (Richard Davalos), are already young adults, and Adam (Raymond Massey) is their strict father. The starting point is already a significant problem because it skips nearly half of the novel. Earlier parts of the story focus on Adam, his brother Charles, his father Cyrus and Cathy, whom Adam marries, all before Cal and Aaron are born, let alone become the young adults they are at the start of the 1955 film.
This approach prevents viewers from understanding the character arcs of Adam and Cathy, who renames herself Kate. The dynamic between Cal and Aaron mirrors the dynamic between Adam and CharlesWith both relationships serving as a retelling of the story of Cain and Abel. Although some of the important details about Adam and Cathy's passing are eventually revealed in the film, such as Cal learning the identity of his mother, this information does not hold the same weight due to the extensive lack of context.
East of Eden is missing key Book characters
It's not East of Eden without Lee and the Hamiltons
In addition to skipping much of the source material, the East of Eden The film is also missing some essential characters, especially Lee, Samuel Hamilton and all members of his family, except Will. The Hamilton family plays a major role in the novel and their absence from the film is not a change that benefits the story in any way. Sam and Lee deliver East of Edens wisdom and heartOf which there is a lot missing in the film without their presence and the beautiful friendship that forms between them.
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Every member of the Hamilton family |
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Samuel Hamilton |
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Lisa Hamilton |
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George Hamilton |
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Will Hamilton |
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Tom Hamilton |
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Joe Hamilton |
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Lizzie Hamilton |
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Una Hamilton |
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Desi Hamilton |
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Olive Hamilton |
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Molly Hamilton |
While Kathy is an embodiment of evil, and Cal and Aaron are in their respective roles the versions of Cain and Abel, Sam and Lee act as the moral center of the story. Lee is a Chinese-American individual who code-switches between acting as his true, deeply intelligent self and acting in an offensive stereotypical fashion based on who he is interacting with and the situations in which he finds himself. This is part of the story, the American dream, as Sam is an Irish immigrant, which is all but excluded from the film.
A limited series can be more faithful to the source material
Netflix East Of Eden series has more time to adapt the entire novel
With a runtime of 117 minutes, East of Eden Never had a chance to properly adapt Steinbeck's novel about 600 pages. With multiple episodes that can cover every section of the book, Netflix's limited series has the chance to be a much more faithful and rewarding adaptation. The early episodes can start when Adam and Cathy are younger and depict all the vital story beats before Cal and Aaron were born, ultimately culminating in a more satisfying ending.
Lee's story will need to be handled with sensitivity in Kazan's script and in the chosen actor's performance.
Based on Pugh and Abbott's previous films and TV series, they are excellent choices to play Adam and Cathy, and can be made to look older as the series progresses. Lacking characters like Sam, the rest of his family and Lee can be included and explored in-depthAlthough Lee's story will need to be handled with sensitivity in Kazan's script and in the chosen actor's performance. how so East of Eden is an all-time great American novel, and although Dean's movie was well-received, it hopefully now has a worthy adaptation thanks to the upcoming Netflix project.