Many years ago I watched Straight Time (1978), starring Dustin Hoffman, but until recently I had no idea that the film was based on Edward Bunker’s novel No Beast So Fierce.
The novel is quite different from the film. For example, the relationship between Max and the woman who interviews him for a job develops into a romance in the film, while nothing similar happens in the novel. The film also feels much more concentrated, while the novel spends considerably more time on Max’s life and his criminal milieu.
One of the few moments that immediately reminded me of the film is when Max, overwhelmed by anger, attacks his parole officer. This becomes an important turning point, as Max returns to his old criminal life.
I found the novel somewhat too long. At around 300 pages, I think the story could easily have been shortened by about 100 pages. Bunker is clearly interested in the everyday life of a former convict and the criminal world around him, but for me this sometimes makes the novel feel more episodic than a conventional crime novel.
Having seen Straight Time first, I was probably expecting something closer to the film’s more concentrated dramatic structure. No Beast So Fierce is a much more expansive portrait of a man who cannot escape his criminal past.
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