"Eveline" movie adaptation

Setting:

I would leave the setting the same as in the short story because I think that the time period tells a lot and is perfect for the story. The setting would be late 1890's to early 1900's, Dublin, Ireland. Also, the story would be set in a poorer neighborhood of a working class family. The setting is perfect for the character's need to escape. Ireland went through a pretty rough period during this time and by making the family struggling, the character becomes a sympathetic character. Also, while Ireland is usually seen as very beautiful and green, but rainy, Dublin is usually characterized as dirty, poor, and gray. The Dublin setting kind of reminds me of the New York Great Depression setting, which, if set in America, could also be a good setting for this movie. However, wherever the movie is set, past, present, or future, the general setting needs to be a poorer area that is seeing hard times causing a need for escape.

POV:

This is going to be interesting to turn into a movie with the current POV in the short story because it shows us her thoughts a lot of the time, which is difficult in movies. So, I think that the POV needs to be current first person for some of the story, but I think that a lot of the movie has to be flashbacks too. I also think that while we never personally hear from other characters in the short story, I would add the father, Frank, her boss, and other family members in too. The flashbacks POV would allow us to see into her past experiences without her telling us directly. I think that if she was telling the audience personally, it would seem like she is whining. The sympathetic nature is necessary as well as the theme of being stuck in a bad place. By creating flashbacks, the audience is introduced to the things that made Eveline who she is and that POV creates the sympathy the movie needs. The point of view would still be first person, but it would be presented differently.

Plot:

The movie "Eveline" would start with Eveline sitting at the window, the same as in the story, with that tired look. The audience would get a good look at Eveline, so they start to wonder why she seems to put out. Then, the movie would start to move into her flashbacks, so the audience can see what had happened to her. I think that every once and a while, in the present, Eveline would get up and walk around her house, to a picture, a room, or something that triggered a memory. Also, she would be talking to herself a bit, not enough to make her sound crazy, but to show her thoughts and how she arrived at the flashbacks. I think the first flashback would have to be of Frank and of him asking her to go to Buenos Aires with him. This would cause the audience to wonder why she is considering leaving and why she is having a hard time deciding. Then we would move to an image of her neighborhood when she was younger and the circumstances she lived in, after she views an old toy. I think it would show her and her siblings playing with other children in a dirty, empty lot. This formation would cause us to understand her need to leave. Then, she would go back to the window and look out dejected as she moves into the past week at her job, where she is not very happy. In the present, she would express anger over the way she is treated and contempt that people think that they are of a higher class than her. She would then ponder Frank's offer to leave and how it would end her problems. Then, she gets up with a packed suitcase, as to leave, and then she sees a picture of her father, who she still lives with. Memories would flood her of him beating her brothers, saying mean things to her as a little girl, and finally suggesting that she steals the money she makes just last week. Eveline would make for the door to escape the memories, but then she catches a glimpse of her dead mother's picture and dishes and she would remember what her mother said to do. The audience would then be transported to her mother's deathbed where she asks Eveline to take care of the family. In the present, Eveline puts down her suitcase, but stands at the door, trying to come up with good things that would make she stay. She thinks of two circumstances where her father was nice, desperate to think of more, she thinks of the children she looks after, and the brother who sends money. She then bursts out the door and makes for the docks where Frank is, as if escaping those memories that will try to make her stay. She arrives and Frank is there, and he boards, but she is struck by those ghosts of the past. The memories swirl before her, she faintly hears Frank calling her name, but she grips the railing, her eyes blank, and the boat pulls away. The movie ends with a single tear.
The plot is very similar to the short story, but my movie adds more reason for her to stay I think. I wanted the plot to create a "solid"for her to stay and I think the memories bombarding her almost forced her to stay.


Characterization:

Eveline: Eveline is a girl of nineteen who is facing a hard time, just like she is in the story. She is conflicted by the hardships in her life, a need for escape, duty to family, and an abusive relationship with her father. The plot shows how Eveline became this person and the reason she stayed. I think that the abusive relationship she has with her father was one reason she stayed, because many people are afraid to leave. Eveline is also portrayed as a passive person in the short story, but I made her pick up the suitcase, run out the door, and move around her house instead of just sitting at the window to make her more active.
Frank: I didn't talk much about Frank in the plot, but in the movie I am going portray him worse than he is in the short story because I feel bad for Eveline and I want her to have a reason to stay. I am going to make him not the marrying type. He is a sailor, so he won't be home a lot and he is offering to move her thousands of miles away from her home and family. I think that sometimes isn't the best thing because family is usually the best support group, even if its dysfunctional. He is going to be erratic, unpredictable, and nomadic.
Father: The father is going to be the stereotypical poor Irish man who is struggling and may turn to violence and drinking. Although, I want him to have a somewhat nice personality hiding way under everything else because Eveline decided to stay. I don't want Eveline to have misconstrued those nice flashbacks and I want him to start to come out of his "funk." So he will do as I say because I am writing this movie.
I think those are going to be the major characters, but I also want Eveline's boss to be in there a little. She will be a hardened woman who may have also come from a background like Eveline's. However, Eveline will not become like that woman because she has experienced that personality. Also, the children that Eveline cares for will also make an appearance so Eveline realizes that she did have a reason to stay- the children. She will be able to keep the family together and escape her circumstances without leaving her home or family.

Theme:

The theme will stay pretty much the same and that is the plight of a young woman caught in a place she doesn't want to be. This theme is important because it will allow her to start to come out of that place where she is stuck and start to face her circumstance instead of run from it. Also, Eveline seems like a pretty passive person in the short story, but I am making her a little more active to show that you can overcome bad things. Because I am changing the theme a little, the story will be changed. However, with this change, the message will be less dark and uncertain and more positive. I think that Eveline deserves a theme that will work for her after she stays with her family to care for them and the "everything looks up" theme works.