But Lynne Ramsay has done something very strange in her adaptation.

I compared it with the book constantly – my expectations of the film were that concrete. The truth was that I had made a criminal error, as many will, when I watched the movie for the first time. Of course, having read the novel beforehand, I reasoned that this was always going to be the case. During the journey back home from the cinema, I thought to myself how much more compelling the novel was to the film. Yet I was wrong, not just about which scenes were kept and which left out, but of how the film would be structured in its entirety. But there were scenes that seemed to lend themselves so perfectly to the cinematic format, that were so subtle and shocking, that I took it for granted that any director in their right mind wouldn’t dare miss such a wonderful opportunity to include it in their adaptation. Not everything could possibly make it onto the big screen. When I read the novel over the summer, I realised there was a hell of a lot packed into its 400 pages. A lot of things about the film had impressed me – but having loved the book so much, the film had confused and even annoyed me at times. I left the theatre, as many did, not knowing what to think. And when the end credits began to roll and the lights came on as the film finished, there was a collective realisation that the same had been true for all of us… Others had read the five star reviews swimming around on the internet and were inherently intrigued a few, having come in a group of people, had no idea what to expect.

The atmosphere in the room before the film began was one of anticipation and excitement – many had read the novel and were discussing between themselves what they would include in a film. I watched it in a packed out preview on Thursday evening at Cornerhouse, and the experience was an inherently strange one. One of the most anticipated literary adaptations of the year is finally here. Please be aware, this review contains spoilers.

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