When a novel makes the transition from book to screen, one of the most common criticisms we tend to hear is that the adaptation has strayed too far from the source material. Perhaps the screenwriter has chopped out sub-plots and beloved characters with abandon. Maybe they’ve taken the opposite approach and stuffed in a few extra narratives for good measure, after learning that their budget has been bumped up, or unconvincingly turned an ambivalent ending into a big happy Hollywood finale. It’s much rarer to hear complaints that a show has stayed too close to the source material – but that’s precisely the problem with Apple TV+’s The Changeling.
Based on the 2017 novel by Victor LaValle and adapted by Saving Mr Banks and Fifty Shades of Grey screenwriter Kelly Marcel, the eight-part series is dense and self-consciously, overwhelmingly literary. It is packed with allusions to myths and legends, and there are books everywhere – its central couple Apollo (LaKeith Lee Stanfield) and Emma (Clark Backo) are a rare book dealer and a librarian. LaValle himself crops up as the series’ narrator, speaking in aphorisms that feel written to be read rather than heard, and his characters are constantly quoting from stories. All of this probably makes for rich and rewarding reading, but it also ensures a disorientating viewing experience.
