Green Days By The River: From Page to Screen

In 2017, when the public first learned that plans were underway for the release of the film, Green Days By The River, people all across the Caribbean were abuzz with anticipation. The film is based on Michael Anthony’s classic novel set in 1952. With the movie trailer circulating on social media, the piquant comments and discussions signalled that the novel is indeed a favourite for those who had studied the novel in school. Green Days by the River is a story of a Trinidadian teenage boy, Shellie who has just relocated to a new home in Mayaro. The boy becomes smitten by a dougla girl (half Indian and half Creole) and soon develops a closeness with the girl's father, Mr. Gidharee, a wealthy plantation owner. Gidharee becomes a surrogate parent to Shellie at a time when Shellie’s father is declining in health. Shellie’s interest in the dougla girl, Rosalie is unreciprocated, at first, and he later turns his affections to Joan whom he meets at the Discovery Bay Fair. Anthony’s novel explores the experiences of the adolescent boy who is ushered from childhood into manhood and who has to face the consequences of his actions.

Some critics say that an adaptation is never as good as the original literary piece Nonetheless, one cannot deny that the film has skilfully retained most of the primary elements that have made the novel well-loved over the decades. In the film, the novel’s characters are beautifully captured in the meticulously hand-picked actors. The portrayal of Trinidad & Tobago’s vibrant farming culture and the rural seating of Mayaro are equally presented as in the novel. The film provides a cursory tour where police officers ride on horseback and the edifices of Trinidad & Tobago’s capital are seen perched in their ornate beauty.

At the very start of the film, the familiar rhythmic Caribbean music with its distinctive feature-the use of drums- is quite transfixing. The film’s use of music, sometimes interspersed with vocal chanting gauges the emotions of the viewers. A noteworthy mention must be made of the song, ‘Drifting On a River’- its slow rhythmic pace teeming with the passion and pride of farmers like Gidharee. Music is continually injected, reminding Caribbean viewers of their distinctive identity.

Music is always alive like the pulsating heart of Caribbean people. It alerts both the positive and the negative. The brief but ominous drumming when Gidharee cuts the neck of the alligator [iguana] is a perfect depiction which foreshadows Gidharee’s power.

The movie producers made a few changes to the story and some viewers hold the opinion that these changes add as well as detract from the plot points when compared to the original book version. One change is the way Mr. Gidharee found out about Shell and Joan’s relationship after the letter fell from Shell’s pocket while he and Gidharee are out into the bush.

Vital to the text is the scene when Shell hits the ripe cashew from the tree. The scene foreshadows Shell’s sexual encounter with Rosalie who is likened to the ripe cashew. It is Shell who secretly gets the sweet fruit which has been the object of the desires of the teenage boys seen pelting earlier in the film. The producer’s omission of the cashew tree is one element which somewhat shifted the dynamics, in the film. The symbolism of Shell’s action is not emphasized in the film. Its omission provides no alert to the viewers of Shell’s sexual encounter with Rosalie-an action that is implicitly given in the text and even more concealed in the film, itself. Many Jamaican viewers particularly loved that a mango tree was substituted in the screen version of the story. However, they expressed a desire to have seen the textual symbolism retained by the filmmakers.

Another difference in the film is in the depiction of Shell’s maturity- a major theme explored in the original literary piece. Instead of the feeling that Shell has come into his maturity when he chooses to marry Rosalie, it appears that the chief factor fuelling Shell’s decision is his fear of Mr. Gidharee. This made the film end on a very sad note, instead of on the redemptive note that the novel itself evokes. Some viewers say they felt sympathy for Shell at the appearance of his final image on the screen – the newlywed Shell and Rosalie in their Hindu wedding garb, while standing in the background is Mr. Gidharee – emanating his ominous persona of power and control. In this image, Shell seems more like Mr. Gidharee’s victim of circumstance. Undoubtedly, the screen version met my expectation in the way Gidharee’s power and dread are captured. After the brutal attack of the dogs, as Shell lies asleep in bed, recuperating, he is under the watchful eyes of Gidharee – perhaps this time with a measure of regret for having resorted to extreme measures to teach Shell a lesson.

Another point of interest is the images of birds in the movie. In Literature, birds symbolize the presence of a higher being, having an insightful perspective on the world, and conveying the idea of achieving success in a relationship or career. While it is not certain that the producers intended a significance in the image of the three birds flying in the sky, it is interesting that the image of the newlywed, Shell and Rosalie -with the brooding figure of Gidhareeimmediately appears. The bird image reinforces Shell's entrapment and seems to falsify Shell’s initial statement when he tells his father, “Marrying Rosalie is not like if I’m marrying him”. One could say that the filmmakers have so aptly depicted a spiritual completion through the inclusion of the three birds.

Green Days by the River is a must-see film that will definitely let snippets of Michael' Anthony's life bind you in its realism!