So basically...

I thought the movie had some very nice isolated moments (such as the prom/beach scenes and the sweet chemistry between Taylor and Kate, but overall, I agree that it was a missed opportunity. The book had more than enough controversial material and hot button topics to make the film an Oscar contender, but they chose to make it more of a sweet tearjerker type of story, rather than delving more into the court case and the emotional depth of all the characters, especially Anna. The cast too, although very likable, could have been a little better all around. I always liked Abigail Breslin, and she did a nice job, but again, Anna had a lot more layers to her in the book. She had more of a personality and a strong side to her, but that didn't come across in the movie, where she was kind of just a shy and sweet young girl who loved her sister. The screenwriters didn't go too far beneath the surface with the characters, which is unfortunate.

Agreed. I hated that they changed the ending. The book ending made me love it even more than I did while reading it but the movie ending was so predictable, even though saying that probably makes me sound like a dick. They barely bothered with Jesse, so it didn't resonate as much at the end when they said he went to art school. And the romance between Campbell and Julia added depth and dimension to his character, rather than just making him a one dimensional "cutthroat lawyer" character. And the dad was pretty lifeless too like they could've had the movie without him. Which is sad because I liked his character in the book.

Agreed. It felt rushed to me. I think that all the relationships were incredibly complex and intricate, especially between Campbell and Julia. Even though they cut Julia out, they didn't really nail the relationships between the other characters. Picoult's books are character driven, which admittedly, is difficult to show in a film, but the movie felt like it was shepherding the watcher from one scene to the next.