14 Things the Fallen Movie Got Right
Everything Right About the Fallen Adaptation
14 things the fallen movie got right because let’s face it, most of us love this bestselling YA book and had really high hopes. Did the movie succeed in bringing this beloved book to life?
My dear readers, I won’t lie to you, creating this list was not easy. The Fallen movie adaptation has more differences than similarities to the book. Most adaptations never really get it right, especially when it comes to the details.
However, the Fallen movie captures the depressing and unkept vibe of Sword & Cross Academy, with the immediate draw between the main character, Luce, and her love interests, Cam and Daniel, and the mystery of Luce’s past.
Keep reading to see the 14 things the Fallen movie got right, as well as all of the main characters in the book that may or may not have been in the movie. And see if you agree with me!
Fallen Summary
Fallen is about a young girl named Lucinda, or Luce, who has lived a very misunderstood life. She has been seeing shadows since she was a child, which led her parents to enroll her in therapy, various mental institutions, and give her prescription medication.
One night, when Luce was alone with a boy from school that she had a crush on, a terrible accident occurs. A fire consumes everything. The boy, Trevor, doesn’t make it, but Luce mysteriously does.
Due to her previous history of mental instability and hallucinations, she is court-ordered to attend Sword & Cross Academy – a school for young criminals and crazies.
Luce is thrown into a world of danger. It’s not the other students that will hurt her… its her own past.
When Luce spots the most beautiful boy she has ever seen, she is immediately drawn to him, as if she knows him. He, well, doesn’t seem to feel the same. Daniel is either outright rude or appears completely uniterested in her. But Luce can’t shake the feeling that they have a deep connection. All the while, Cam, another incredibly gorgeous boy, makes it very clear that he is into Luce. She likes him too, but not as much as she likes Daniel.
While going back and forth between two love interests, Luce struggles with her shadows, which are appearing more and more frequently. Are the shadows there to hurt her, or will they lead her to the truth about herself and her past?
Luce must be very careful. It’s her past that might very well end her life.
14 Things the Fallen Movie Got Right
#14 The School
A reform school that is in serious need of a paint job, reconstruction, and a groundskeeper.
The Sword & Cross Academy in the book is described more as a juvenile prison in swampy land.
The movie version gave the academy a more run-down expensive estate kind of vibe. Despite the change in structures, the creepy, depressing, and overall spooky vibe of Sword & Cross translated from book to movie well.
#13 Arrianes Burns
In the book, Arriane is described as having burn marks on the back of her neck. Although Ari’s personality isn’t the same, the burn marks are.
Arriane is played by Daisy Head. Instead of being excited, friendly, and crazy, Daisy plays her as welcoming but a little standoff-ish, and more serious than exiting.
#12 Seeing Shadows
The shadows that Luce sees are what everyone thinks are hallucinations. These hallucinations are what had her in and out of various psychological treatments for all of her teen years.
In both the book and movie, Luce lies to her doctors. She tells them that she hasn’t seen the shadows in a while so that she isn’t forced to take pills.
Luce thinks the shadows caused the death of one of her friends. She sees them randomly, but they appear more frequently as the story progresses.
#11 "Luce"
Although Luce hasn’t introduced herself, or her nickname, yet, Miss Sophie in both the book and the movie says “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Luce.”
Even the other students (Gabbe, Roland, and Arianne) refer to her as Luce despite their never meeting… in this life.
It’s a small detail, but as a fan of the book series, it’s one that made me happy to see in the movie.
#10 Molly
Molly’s character is possibly the most accurate out of everyone. Her immediate hatred of Luce, coupled with the grungy attire and bully demeanor is just like the book character.
Sianoa Smit-Mcphee plays Molly incredibly well throughout the entire film.
#9 Penn
Another actress that nailed her part is Lola Kirke. Although not physically what I imagined her to be, Lola plays Penn accurately.
She is a little dorky and socially awkward, but very friendly and welcoming to Luce. Her jokes and outfits are bad but her friendship and help to navigate the school, and relationships, are what Luce loves about her.
#8 Swimming Pool
The swimming pool placed directly in the middle of a church is one of the most interesting parts of the book.
I know what a pool looks like, and I know what the inside of a church looks like, but it was a bit of a struggle to imagine how those two combined.
The movie brought to life the image of something I struggled to dream up, and it was better than expected.
#7 Daniel
Oh Daniel… dear, not-so-sweet, beautiful Daniel. A jerk in the book AND the movie, Jeremy Irvine plays the attractive and rude love interest perfectly.
He is drawn to Luce, yet forces himself to stay away. In his moments of weakness, when he can’t stand to be away from her, he is a complete jerk to try to make HER stay away from him.
Of course, his efforts are futile. Their love has remained strong since the very beginning of time, and no amount of rude comments on his part is going to change that.
Daniel is a walking red flag.
#6 Cam
Love interest #2 is Cam, played by Harrison Gilbertson.
In the books, he is a dark-haired, gorgeous guy with deep hazel eyes that make Luce feel safe and warm. He goes out of his way to flirt with her and try to drive her away from Daniel.
Although Cam is trying to get Luce to love him, he messes it up by taking her to a bar out in the middle of nowhere and making her extremely uncomfortable when a fight breaks out.
#5 The Dress
The books cover photo is Luce wearing an incredible black gothic dress. It is strapless, has a tight corset, and fans out in a full skirt of layered black lace fabric.
As a homage to the cover photo, Luce in the movie wears a strikingly similar dress when she goes out on a date with Cam.
#4 Helston 1854
The photo of Daniel and Luce in Helston in the year 1854 is what really convinces Luce that all her feelings, dreams, and guesses are right.
In the book, she finds a dusty old novel written by Daniel, and the photo on the first page is of the pair in Helston in 1854. In the movie, she discovers this photo on the internet with the help of Penn and Todd.
#3 Fire in the Library
There are some slight differences between the library fire scene in the book and in the movie, but the general idea remains consistent.
Luce, Todd, and Penn are in the library. While doing some research, Penn walks away and leaves Luce alone. A fire starts out of nowhere and Luce struggles to find Penn, but then the fire gets so bad that she has to find a way to escape.
In her attempt to flee, Luce inhales too much smoke and doesn’t quite make it.
In the movie, we know its Daniel, but in the book, Luce only sees a shimmering light. Daniel, as an angle, swoops in and rescues Luce from the fire in the library. She doesn’t remember much when she wakes up in the hospital.
When Luce wakes up, she learns that Todd did not make it out of the fire.
#2 Gabbe
In both the book and movie, Gabbe is the sugary-sweet, tall blond and beautiful girl that Luce THINKS Daniel is dating.
It isn’t until the end of the story that we find out they are just friends, and she has actually been rooting for Daniel and Luce to be together this entire time.
Hermione Corfield portrays Gabbe almost exactly like how she is written in the book. The only thing missing was her southern accent.
#1 Miss Sophia
Played by Joely Richardson, Miss Sophie is the sweet and lovely librarian who also teaches religion classes at Sword & Cross Academy.
The angels all trust her with their secret, but she betrays them when she kills Penn and attempts to kill Luce.
Miss Sophie claims to side with God and Heaven in the war, but her motives and actions are her own. Not even Lucifer wants Luce dead forever.
FALLEN Main Character
LUCINDA
The main character, Lucinda, is much the same in both the book and the movie.
She is timid and quiet, but friendly. She easily makes friends at Sword & Cross but did not at her old high school.
She struggles with her past, seeing the shadows, and figuring out her connection with Daniel.
She slowly grows into herself but is still a bit of a pushover by the time the story ends. In the later books, we see significant growth and independence, which is something I wish we could have seen in a second movie.
