MovieChat Forums > Z for Zachariah (2015) Discussion > How different is the movie from the book...

How different is the movie from the book?

posted 9 years ago by alexander-iv
6 replies | jump to latest

I remember reading this in 9th grade.. or 8th grade, and really enjoying it. I recall going through the whole book in one sitting. It was great. But this was 17+ years ago.

When I watched the movie, I was trying to find things I would recognize from the book, but I realized that this film is so different from the book, that it feels more like a Z for Zachariah-inspired story... rather than a movie version of the book.

In the book, the main story evolves around the anti-radiation suit and the drama between the characters. There is only one suit and there are two characters, Loomis and Ann, who both want to leave a secluded area? Correct me if I am wrong. There is also no Caleb character and they don't live on a farm, iirc.

[–] AimC 9 years ago

You should summarize the book more so people can comment about that.

It's hard to imagine having much similarity when Caleb didn't exist in the book.

[–] Slam_Evil 9 years ago

There is a farm in the book. It's Anne's and she thinks she's all that's left until Loomis shows up in a radiation suit. He moves into the farm when he's getting over radiation sickness, then he gets better and they live together happily for awhile, then he goes all weird and tries to rape her, she runs away and then it's his farm. They play cat and mouse for a month or so, he wings her in the leg but she gets away, steals the suit and leaves the valley.

Loomis is a moron, Anne was hot for him but he was crap at expressing his feelings and when they came out at last he became all pervy and freaked her out. He could have maybe repaired things but instead tried to jump her one night and ruined things forever. Creepy jerk. His biggest crime in my mind though was causing the death of the world's last dog. Anne shoulda smoked his rapey ass just for that. Poor old Faro.

You're welcome.

[–] movieLoader 9 years ago

Wow, if that's true I'm glad they changed the story, the book sounds bad.

[–] iroquoisjoe 9 years ago

Wow, if that's true I'm glad they changed the story, the book sounds bad.

Ha!  Yeah...I too am glad they changed the story, but it is not necessarily because the book is "bad". It's an okay little novella but it is a LITTLE unfocused. That lack of focus and the fact the author died before he could finish his work, gives the book a somewhat unsatisfying ending (a different ending to the one in the movie...which some feel is also not quite satiating enough ).

I am not a fan of them adding the third character, but I understand there was a need for some. An almost exact book to screen adaptation was done before...which wasn't bad, but, again, had unfocused characters/rationales and an underwhelming climax.

I love this movie for the fantastic acting, cinematography, and intriguing look at human nature.



On November 6, 2012 god blessed America...again. 

[–] edblackham 9 years ago

I loved the book, and hated the changes made to make it a movie

[–] spookyrat1 9 years ago

... it feels more like a Z for Zachariah-inspired story ...

That's not a bad way to describe it. With the introduction of Caleb, the plot obviously changes things a great deal from the book, which, after all is said and done, was never finished by the author before he passed away. As one of the other posters has noted and I would agree, Loomis is a far more unlikeable character in the book, whilst Ann is younger and arguably more impressionable.🐭