DON’T WORRY ABOUT
EXPECTATIONS
“There was a period where the book was
ubiquitous. I was aware definitely of
[people’s expectations], and you feel
a responsibility. Having come from a
much smaller [adaptation] with Brooklyn,
you get a glimpse of that. But when you
start actually doing it, and carry what
you loved about the story with you, you
get too busy to worry about it. You just
think: get on and tell the story.”GIVE IT A CINEMATIC
STRUCTURE
“The first big decision was to not follow
the structure of the book — to not be
linear, which allowed us an entrance to
a more cinematic storytelling form. The
past and the present sit on top of each
other a lot more than they perhaps do in
the book. That allowed
us into a certain kind
of visual editorial idea,
if that makes sense
— you’re intercutting
in a way that’s
rather exciting.”FIND YOUR
FOCUS
“Dramatically, you’re
focusing on the most
pertinent parts of this
story — of a boy and
man caught in grief, and
a dilemma with apainting. So we focused in on the two
most dramatic parts of the story. We
distilled our story timeframes down to two
tighter sections. There are decisions that
we make which might feel shorter, or more
reductive, but I think that they’re needed.”DON’T AIM TO BE DEFINITIVE
“You have to know that what you’re
making is one account of the book.
You’re not trying to do something
definitive, which stands for everybody.
And yes, there will be some people who
will miss certain aspects of the story. A lot
of my friends love the book, but I don’t
know that any two of them would agree
on what they loved about it. And even the
ones who don’t like the book very much
don’t even agree with what they don’t like!
You hope that you truthfully capture the
essence of all of that, and that there’s
enough there for whatever people loved in
the book to find in the film. They say
good books make bad films... well, I don’t
agree with that!” JOHN NUGENTTHE GOLDFINCH IS IN CINEMAS FROM
26 SEPTEMBERDirector John Crowley on
how to adapt a sprawling,
beloved bestseller like
The GoldfinchFROM 800 PAGES TO
120(ISH) MINUTES
Main and below:
Aisling Franciosi as
Irish convict Clare in
The Nightingale.
Top: Dissolute mates
Theodore (Ansel Elgort)
and Boris (Aneurin
Barnard). Here: Oakes
Fegley as young Theo.Director John Crowley
spoke to Empire on
22 May from London,
while casting a play.