The Tenth Circle

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors, and The Tenth Circle is my favorite of her many novels. So I was excited when I heard that Lifetime was making a movie of the book, although there is always the concern that the filmmakers will completely slaughter the material.

It seems that the latter is the case for this particular offering. It's hard for me to consider the movie by itself, because I love the book so much. So this review is a little biased in that respect, because my biggest issue with the movie was that it left out some of what I thought were the most important parts of the book.

The plot of the book and movie is pretty simple. A boy breaks up with his high school girlfriend. In an effort to get him back, the girl tries to make him jealous at a party. They end up having sex. The girl says he raped her. The boy says she asked for it. Then the boy ends up dead. Sounds simple, right? Well, in the movie it is. Everything moves along quickly with minimal emotion, and all the loose ends are knotted up by the end. The book is a bit more convoluted. There are twists and turns, an escape to Alaska, adultery, lies, heartwrenching emotions, and my favorite part, a graphic novel written into the book. The book does not end neatly. It's much more realistic, and leaves the reader hanging, much like real life would be.

The location of the movie was perfect, exactly how it should have been. I also enjoyed the performances of all the actors. The girl who plays Trixie is exactly how I imagined her, except without red hair. And Kelly Preston, who I've never especially loved, did a great job as the mother. All in all, if you have some time to waste watching a well made but not very involved movie, then watch The Tenth Circle on Lifetime. (I'm sure it'll be aired many more times, since it was heavily promoted.) If you want to get sucked into a story and not be able to get away from it, pick up the book. As is so often the case, the book is so much better than the movie!