People We Meet On Vacation book detail almost cut from Netflix film | Films | Entertainment
Netflix has just launched its latest romantic comedy, People We Meet on Vacation, based on Emily Henry’s chart-topping novel of the same name.
The story follows free-spirited journalist Poppy and her creature-of-habit best mate Alex, who first cross paths at university and vow to meet up each summer for a getaway.
The duo travel across the globe together whilst maintaining a strictly platonic friendship. However, after a decade of keeping up the tradition, they start to wonder whether they might actually be soulmates.
Since the book hit shelves in 2021, fans have become deeply invested in its protagonists, making some apprehensive about this fresh adaptation.
But director Brett Haley has emphasised that he ‘fought’ to preserve the popular aspects of the novel in his film version.
A crucial element Haley retained was the book’s flashback structure. Like its literary counterpart, the movie unfolds in the present day whilst showing Poppy (portrayed by Emily Bader) and Alex’s (Tom Blyth) holidays through flashbacks.
Speaking before its debut, the director revealed to Netflix: “We wrestled a long time with doing a flashback-driven film, which is how the book is written.
“We really fought to use the ‘X summers ago’ [format] because we knew that people love that element. We wanted to make sure it rang very true for readers.”
He went on to say: “But it was also important to open this up for people who haven’t read the book or who might want to read the book. This is a film that everybody can enjoy – it can speak to a lot of people.”
Another subtle tribute to readers was the final scene, which depicts Poppy and Alex lounging by the beach, echoing the book cover.
Haley confirmed that this was no accident. The 42-year-old explained: “It was just important to make sure that we were true to Poppy and Alex’s journey at all times.
“So I would always refer back to the book and think, ‘How can I incorporate Easter eggs or little nods to the book that fans will appreciate?'”.
He added: “From the very first draft I was like ‘We need to conclude the movie on the book cover.'”
The rest of the material was treated with just as much consideration, according to author Henry.
“A lot of things have to change for a film, but every time there was one of those changes he would ask me if I had a reaction to it. If I thought the readers wouldn’t be completely on board, we tried to find a new solution,” she shared with Netflix.
People We Meet on Vacation is streaming now on Netflix
