The film Stand By Me changed the story Stephen King would have liked to write

This article contains spoilers for “Stand By Me” and its source material.

Stephen King’s “The Body” ends with an emotional gut punch. The short story takes place from Gordie’s point of view, who recounts his enduring friendship with three boys – Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio – in Castle Rock. A local gang accidentally discovers the body of a missing child, and the trio decides to find him to become famous.

Unfortunately, things go horribly wrong while they’re camping, and Chris ends up pulling a gun on the gang out of fear. The children grow apart after this heartbreaking incident, but Chris and Gordie remain close friends. However, in a heartbreaking turn of events, we learn that Chris was fatally stabbed in the present day, while Vern and Teddy also suffered accidental deaths. This tragic twist turns Gordie into an adult desperate for nostalgia, because these memories – as painful as they are – are all he has of his dear friends.

Rob Reiner’s adaptation of King’s short story “Stand by Me” changes some detailsincluding WHO reaches for the weapon before the decisive confrontation. Reiner spoke to Variety to commemorate the film’s 30th anniversary and explained how this tiny change recontextualizes everything. It turns out that King himself is a fan of this narrative alteration:

“In the book, when they have the faceoff at the end and they’re staring at the gang of older boys who want to take the body back, it’s Chris Chambers who takes the gun. As we moved forward, [producer] Andy Scheinman said, “What if Gordie took the gun?” Staying with the idea that this is Gordie’s journey. When we screened it for Stephen King. He said: “When you asked Gordie for this gun, I asked myself: why didn’t I have it?

“The Body” is retroactively revealed as a deeply personal elegy, as these memories are a way for Gordie to remember/honor his friendships through the lens of grief-fueled nostalgia. We only learn of the deaths at the very end, forcing us to re-evaluate every detail via the context of Gordie’s emotional state. Reiner, however, opens the film with a newspaper article about the fatal attack on Chris (River Phoenix), which prompts Gordie (Wil Wheaton) to recount the fateful childhood incident that took place in 1959. As the emotional shock of Chris’ death is neither delayed nor hidden from us, Gordie’s narration takes on a distinct qualitybut doesn’t have the same impact as “The Body”.

Reiner’s decision to let Gordie take the gun instead of Chris also shifts responsibility to the storyteller, as a certain amount of guilt or regret torments the adult Gordie (Richard Dreyfuss), who tells this story in conclusion. Although this adds pathos to Gordie’s relationship with the past, which he simultaneously fears and yearns for, “Stand By Me” ends on a bittersweet note. “I never had any friends later like the ones I had when I was twelve. Hell, did anyone?” » Gordie muses, clinging to the nostalgia of having good childhood friends who shared the same formative experiences as you. Although Chris is gone, Vern and Teddy are still alive, which offers a glimmer of hope.

In contrast, “The Body” leaves Gordie with nothing but vivid memories that will haunt him forever. Yes, there is a sincere nostalgia for the freedom associated with growing up in a small town, but the bleakness of adulthood has caught up with everyone, from which there is no escape.