Once Were Warriors (film) - Differences Between Book and Film

Differences Between Book and Film

The book and the movie follow a roughly similar plot. The three major differences are the role of Beth, most of Nig's gang subplot is absent from the film and the ending is significantly different. In addition, the film takes place in Auckland whereas the novel was set in the fictional town of Two Lakes based on the town of Rotorua where Alan Duff grew up. (Rotorua is Maori for two lakes.)

In the book, Beth and Jake are roughly equal characters. Beth is a flawed but dynamic character who is almost as irresponsible as Jake. In the film, Beth is more central, especially as Jake's period of homelessness is completely absent from the film, but her character is less complex. The difference between Beth's character in the book and the film is illustrated by an episode in which the family rent a car in order to visit Boogie in borstal, but Jake ends up getting drunk in the pub as the family wait in the car with him promising to have only one drink. In the book, Beth hires the car using money she has saved by not drinking, but quickly joins Jake in the pub and gets upset that they have not visited Boogie only when it is too late. In the film, the rental car is obtained by Jake giving money to Beth that he won gambling on horse racing. Beth and the children wait in the car for Jake to come out of the bar for several hours before going back home without visiting Boogie. Essentially Beth spends the first three quarters of the movie as a passive character before Grace's suicide spurs her into leaving Jake, whereas throughout the book she makes several attempts to improve her life before improving both her family's life and her community.

The subplot concerning Nig's gang is a bigger part of the book than the film. Nig attempts to find a substitute family in the gang, but its members are either too brutal or too beaten down to provide him with the love and support he craves.

The most apparent difference between the plot of the novel and film is the ending. In the novel, Grace is not sure who raped her, but thinks it may have been Jake. She writes this in her diary and when the rest of the family find it they confront Jake. He cannot remember what happened as he was too drunk. He then leaves the family, lives in a park and befriends a young homeless man. Meanwhile Beth begins a Māori culture group which reinvigorates the community.