When the news broke that Daisy Jones and the Six was going to be made into a miniseries, I couldn’t wait. While the book was not my favourite, I was excited at the prospect of the adaptation. As the novel is written as an interview with the members after the band’s breakup, documenting their journey from the beginning, to their success, and their downfall, I envisioned that the whole story would be brought to life on screen in the way that a book cannot do. Being able to physically hear the dialogue of these characters if they were being interviewed would make it feel so real that it would be impossible to remember that they’re fictional.
I was expecting to be blown away, and yet, I got two episodes into the series and I found myself not liking it at all.
Often people say that reading a book before watching the film/series can be somewhat of a curse. Readers tend to build up an image of what things look like in their head, and many times what they picture – in terms of characters and settings – never make it onto the big screen. Which, I found was the case with Daisy Jones.
Firstly, I think the casting directors did an excellent job choosing Riley Keough for the role, because she perfectly captures the chaotic mess that is Daisy , and I don’t think I could have selected anybody better for the part. Riley was exactly how I pictured Daisy to look, with her flaming red hair, and exquisite features, even before the adaptation was announced. However, when it comes to other characters – Billy Dunn, Camila, etc. there was just something that didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Of course, I have nothing against the actors chosen for these roles – and I think Sam Claflin is a brilliant actor in his own right, but I imagined Billy with a Kurt Cobain look/vibe and he didn’t scream Billy to me. And while I wasn’t disappointed with Suki Waterhouse, she just wasn’t the Karen I had imagined in my head.
But, truthfully, I don’t think the casting was the problem for me, as even if the characters don’t look exactly as I imagine, I can usually get on board with their performances, especially if they’re good ones.
In fact, I think the whole thing was just way too slow. I know from reading the book that it isn’t the most fast-paced narrative, but literally nothing happens in the first two episodes of the series. I kept watching, and waiting, and yet, I got to the end of each and found myself disappointed. In the book, Daisy and the band meet relatively quickly into the story, and yet, at the end of the second installment their paths still hadn’t crossed. While I think background is important with stories set in previous eras as historical context is important, there was just way too much in these episodes and not enough plot pushing the story forward. I wanted more and wanted something to keep me interested, but my intrigue faded rather fast, hence why I finished the second episode and made it no further.
But, I have to admit that the soundtrack is FIRE. “…Regret Me” and “Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)” are two of my absolute favorites, and I adore the fact that they released an album alongside the adaptation, as it really immerses you in the story. I was surprised by how good Sam Claflin is as a singer, and Riley Keough too, though I wasn’t too surprised considering her grandfather was Elvis Presley… music is basically in her genes. Even if you haven’t seen the series or read the book, I highly recommend listening to ‘Aurora’ on Spotify. If you like 70s alternative indie/rock/folk then you’ll love the songs included on the album!
Perhaps it’s a crazy idea, but I feel like this would have made an excellent adaptation in the form of a radio drama or podcast. The mixture of the band interviews and the music would have been brilliant to listen to, without the constraints or needing to include all of the other information like in an audio book, straight from the page.
I have had many people tell me to stick with it because apparently it gets better, but I feel like unless the story is a thriller with massive twists and turns and an excellent payoff, then each episode up until the ‘good bit’ or the part of Daisy Jones that I’m waiting for, feels wasted until that moment. Maybe I’ll try and revisit this again in the future once I get through my lengthy list of other adaptations waiting for me, but for now, the overall series is only getting 2 and a half stars from me.
thebecksedit.co.uk 