Reactions and general demeanour, not everything has to be said

Sally Rooney sees herself in both characters of her novel Normal People but does not let her break it down any further. I feel that my mental state as a child is still a mystery to me said Rooney during a TCA panel for the upcoming Hulu series.

When I wrote the book, I felt that both characters were a projection of my perspective, she said. Both embody aspects of my psychology. (…) The challenge of adapting to the screen is that both have reflective properties. 

To meet this challenge, Rooney turned to Oscar-nominated Room director Lenny Abrahamson, who directed every episode of the 12-episode TV adaptation. Abrahamson, who accompanied the executive producer Ed Guiney and actors Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones Rooney on the podium,

said the key to unlocking the novel’s resonance on the screen is understanding how much you do can learn about someone from their movement, reactions and general demeanour – not everything has to be said.

You meet someone on the street and talk to them for 30 seconds, and you get a feel for who they are, Abrahamson said. It is extraordinary how many non-verbal (indicators) exist in this arena. So what you’re trying to do as a (filmmaker) is to recreate this essence in a new medium. 

The end of her school days in a small town in the west of Ireland to her studies at Trinity College

Abrahamson also said that television is the best place for this adaptation because you can be very precise in telling an intimate story. The TV now gives you the ability to tell stories with precise details, he said. We can make this story accessible to such a broad audience and give it the features it needs. (…) It felt vibrant and exciting to me. 

Ordinary People is a 30-minute drama series adapted by Rooney together with the writers Alice Birch and Mark O’Rowe. Per Hulu’s Synopsis, the adaptation describes Marianne and Connell’s delicate but complicated relationship from the end of her school days in a small town in the west of Ireland to her studies at Trinity College.

But neither of them had read Rooney’s book before they were occupied

He is famous and famous at school, while she is lonely, proud, and intimidating. But when Connell comes to pick up his mother from her cleaning job at Marianne, a strange and indelible bond grows between the two teenagers, one that they want to hide. Both Abrahamson and Rooney have credited their two leads for the series’ success.

If you send two talented people like Daisy and Paul to such fertile territory, you have the opportunity to explore the direct presence of these characters, said Abrahamson. But neither of them had read Rooney’s Book before they were occupied.

I got my first audition and heard about the book – a couple of friends had told me ‘that’s the best thing you’ve ever read’ – (…), but I knew from the letter how complex it was in it Book was a few lines of dialogue that I have, said Edgar-Jones. I’m glad I didn’t read it before because I would have put a lot of pressure on myself.

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