I very recently read Circle of friends, and found it endearing, smart and very true to life. I felt that the movie was a very unsuccessful attempt at smashing the story line to a very tipical flick that was not at all believable. I might have enjoyed the movie more had I not read the book, but I was very distracted at the seemingly non-existing morals that were so much a part of the book. One particular annoyance is the portrayal of Nan, she was an un-likeable character in the book, but there was a means behind the "madness". The movie had you beleiving she was just a whore, but there was a whole sidestory for her motivation to seduce Simon Westward, which wasn't even hinted at in the movie. While I did like the performances of Benny and Eve, I thought Chris O'donnel as Jack was all wrong, he lacked the upbeat sincerely easy-going qualities that made Jack Jack. I would not reccomend this movie to fans of the book that truly understood that is was more than just about some flimsy romance between Benny and Jack. I also want to note that the ending was supremely outside the scope of what is was meant to be. Someone else mentioned that is was a more happy ending than in the book, but I disagree wholeheartedly. In the book you see Benny overcome her sadness and depression from that first love that would inevitably break her heart. The ending in the movie was cliche and typical of hollywood. In my opinion a very flimsy chick-flick with not enough to hold it together.
