Eucalyptus is a simple novel. The story of a widower who plants hundreds of eucalyptuses as a memorial to his wife. Living with him in this man-made forest, hidden away from prying eyes, is the young daughter (due to be portrayed by Nicole Kidman in a never completed movie).  Over the years, men have tried to win her heart, to no avail. One day, he creates a seemingly impossible competition — the man who can name all 800 eucalyptuses on his property, will win the daughter’s hand in marriage. Suitors try their luck. A brilliant, dashing botanist (Hugo Weaving) nears the finishing line, the daughter finds herself drawn to another (Crowe) who will ruin the film adaptation of this novel in the process.
The last sentence is a post-modern conceit, where life imitates art. The author Murray Bail thought his novel was un-filmable, he was probably right. Filming of Eucalyptus was due to start in February 2005 in the country town of Bellingen in New South Wales. The crew had even built a mock farmhouse which was never used.  The lives of the citizen’s of Bellingen were severely disrupted. Hotels, motels, houses booked for the actors and crew were never occupied.  Residents who had leased their homes and made alternative arrangements were left hanging. They had encountered a “cursed novel adaptation”. The artistic differences between film director Jocelyn Moorhouse (of Proof fame) and Crowe which killed the film are not exactly interesting in themselves. What is more fascinating is the fact that this novel has such power that it can drive people against each other in terms of their interpretation of the story. The media estimated the funding for this film was $15 to $20 million, yet Crowe was willing to sacrifice this, and the livelihood of his film-crew and a chance to work with Kidman over his understanding of a novel.  The official reason was supposed to be rain which damaged the film set. However, these are but the symptoms of the “cursed novel adaptation”.
Another famous example was the attempt by film director Terry Gilliam to film Don Quixote, the unfolding disaster, which also included downpours (all cunningly recorded in the documentary Lost in La Mancha) resulting in the complete abandonment of the film project. The reality is that no film adaptation could ever do justice to the work of Cervantes, attempts were doomed from the start. Famously, Orson Wells tried but failed to complete a Don Quixote project. Could it be that Eucalyptus is Murray Bail’s answer to Don Quixote? The links are there, a deluded man who sees eucalyptus trees as his wind-mills against the world.  Both these novels can drive you and Crowe to madness – they must be worth a read.