#BookToFilm of Rumble Fish

 

“The book was better,” people always say.  And in most cases, that is correct.  Books can give much more detail and get deeply into a character’s thoughts and perceptions.  But in a small number of cases, the film adaptation of a book is, in fact, better than the book. 

Rumble Fish is one of those rare beasts.

Based on S. E. Hinton’s slim novel, Francis Ford Coppola’s surreal, dream-like film was shot back-to-back with his adaptation of Hinton’s wildly successful The Outsiders and used many of the same cast and crew.  Yet the two films could not be more different in style, tone and look. 

Shot almost entirely in black and white (only the titular rumble fish or Siamese fighting fish are in color), this film shows a darker, grittier side of Tulsa.  Against the backdrop of stylised urban decay Matt Dillon’s Rusty James struggles to find his place in the world.  Mickey Rourke plays the older brother he idolises, an enigmatic figure known only as The Motorcycle Boy.

The film focuses more intently on the relationship between the brothers than the book which explores Rusty James’s dependent friendship with Steve alongside his hero-worship of his brother.  In the film, Steve is still present, but is more a sidekick than a central figure.  But his role in pointing out The Motorcycle Boy’s flaws remains the same in both.

The question of The Motorcycle Boy’s sanity is brought up time and again throughout the film.  Rusty James isn’t sure what to believe about him, while Steve grows to believe he is unstable. The cop who is out to get both brothers is convinced he’s mad, but the boys’ drunkard father (played with delightful roguishness by Dennis Hopper) believes The Motorcycle Boy just sees the world differently to others. With less context to the film's ending than the book gives us, the central question of The Motorcycle Boy's mental state is left to the audience to decide.

This uncertainty about one of the central characters is heightened by the film’s production design and cinematography which create weird shadows and angles, time sped up in places and slowed down in others.  There is a constant sense of unreality even when what is playing out on screen is mundane and all too real.  This is underscored by Stewart Copeland’s eerie soundtrack which adds to the disorientation that permeates the film.

Essentially an art film, Rumble Fish is filled with symbolism to highlight its themes.  Clocks spinning wildly suggest that time is running away from these characters.  And the titular fish evoke the world these teens live in – a world in which they will fight to the death for their place in it.  There is a sense that they are trapped, like fish in a bowl, fighting for space to survive.

I love this film and would not hesitate to suggest that it is Mickey Rourke’s finest on-screen performance.  He has swagger and charisma, yet manages at the same time to be enigmatic and unapproachable.  His relationship with Rusty James swings between bemused affection and total disinterest and can change on a dime.  This too adds to the unsettling nature of the film – a wildly unpredictable character can keep the audience on edge.

This is my favorite adaptation of an S E Hinton novel even if it doesn't fit comfortably into either the teen movie genre or that of the art film.  Have you seen this film?  What did you think?  Better than the book or not?

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