I was excited to see they had made a movie of one of my favorite novels. I approached it almost with reverence, albeit with some trepidation that they might veer from the original subject matter. When I saw the promo picture, I knew something was amiss, for there were only two characters in the novel. I had hopes the damage was not too severe, but the moving and elegantly written novel was completely eviscerated, and there was little to enjoy, aside from the scenery, in this sad knockoff. That is not to say that the actors were not good in their roles, they acted their parts as given to them, but the screenplay had none of the grit, drama, or faith of the original. Anne's faith in God and her relationship with Him was trivialized and mocked, rather than being central to her strength and survival. John was not nearly as developed as he was in the novel, and became almost charming. His intent on furthering the human race at any cost was actually reversed, and Anne was subjected to none of the grief and adventure which were to result in the final catharsis of the novel. Not that that matters, that choice was never even made in the movie. All tragedies were averted, and nothing can be learned from the resultant saccharine and weak version we have been given. Heck, even her dog survived. Changing John's race and Anne's age were poor decisions that confused the relationship and interaction between these two characters, and adding Caleb distracted from and marred the beauty and intent of the original storyline. The adaptation was painful to watch, and I am looking forward to reading the novel again so that I might forget this inept fumbling of what had been great literature. It is a real travesty, as the original story was something to move the soul. Two thumbs down.