Joseph Conrad’s Film-ability

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness lends itself, in some ways, to be easily adapted to film, but in other ways makes it very difficult to put on a feature-length production.
The concentrated descriptions of every element of this novel make it very easy to imagine it in a film. There are very intent descriptions of the characters, especially Marlow. He is described as having “sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, a straight back” (66). This makes it very easy to picture him, and thus easy to cast the appropriate actor and apply the appropriate make-up and costuming. The scenery, in addition, also is described in detail, particularly the boat and the bodies of water. The Chapman lighthouse, in fact, is described as “a three-legged thing erect on a mud-flat” (67). These details would make it very easy for a set...