MovieChat Forums > On the Beach (1959) Discussion > Did you like the book Moira or the movie...

Did you like the book Moira or the movie Moira better?

posted 9 years ago by bogeybob1
5 replies | jump to latest

One important difference between the movie and the book was the characterization of Moira. In the book, she was 24 years old with her whole life ahead of her, and she fantasizes about the possibility of giving Dwight a whole new family (if the radiation was not to spread southward). In the movie, Moira is middle-aged, and there is the underlying feeling that she (like John Osborne) regrets not having a family of her own - there is a sense of melancholy. Which Moira do you think works better for this movie?

[–] missik777 9 years ago

The book........

[–] bazt-93964 9 years ago

The radio drama....
Was Ava going through a hard time? She looked dog rough.

[–] bazt-93964 9 years ago

I hadnt reached the swimsuit scene.....

[–] Eric-62-2 9 years ago

You certainly hadn't! The swimsuit scene IMO shows Ava at her zenith beauty wise (especially when her hair is wet). After that, she was looking her age more and more and prone to looking a bit puffed up (likely the result of all her drinking).

I think its because Ava's interpretation of Moira has a strange autobiographic quality, given how unlucky she was in love and her own battles with the bottle, that it makes her performance in the movie shine considerably and makes it fascinating to watch.

[–] lavenderspirit2005 9 years ago

I haven't read the book yet. So I can only speak for movie Moira. I actually like the idea of an older woman, with many regrets and mistakes made, and no time to correct them. It gives a dark melancholy to the character that wouldn't be there, in my opinion, if she was young with a (in normal times) brighter future. One reason I found her character a lot more complex and multi-layered than Peter's wife. We know the life Peter's wife would've led. Sunshine, suburbia, and family. Hers would've been a simple, happy path. We don't know how Moira would've turned her messed-up life around, or even if she ever would've, and we know for certain that this lady with some years on her, years she wasted, will absolutely never have that opportunity. Hers is a longer life nearly completely thrown away. It makes the character infinitely sadder but infinitely more interesting to me.