Fans were excited when Netflix released the trailer of its latest thriller, titled The Weekend Away, about a month ago. The film, which was released on March 3 on the streaming platform, marks Leighton Meester’s return to the big screen as a leading lady after taking some time off films.
It stars Meester as Beth, a young woman who flies to Croatia for a much-needed getaway with her best friend, Kate, who is eventually murdered. Fans have speculated that the film might be based on a true story, but is there any truth to that suspicion?
Is The Weekend Away based on a true story?
The murder mystery is actually based on a novel of the same name by London-born, LA-based author, Sarah Alderson, who also serves as the screenwriter of the film. Alderson received the inspiration to write the novel after a real-life trip to Lisbon, Portugal, with her best friend. Thankfully, the actual trip did not have any life-threatening moments, but she did reveal to My Imperfect Life that her time abroad led to her telling a story about the significance of female friendships:
Female friends have saved me so many times. I really treasure my friendships, and I wanted that to come across in the movie.
Friendship is a major theme in the novel as well as the film, as Meester’s Beth leaves everything behind to find out what happened to her friend Kate, played by Christina Wolfe. Alderson also revealed that she wants young women to not feel pressured to have everything figured out at an early age:
The choices you make in your 20s and 30s can sometimes feel like they’re the ones that define you for the rest of your life, you know? I think I was trying to suggest that it’s OK to question maybe make changes.
What are the differences between the book and the movie?
The film features several unexpected twists and turns and has some humorous moments that make it a worthwhile watch. The novel’s protagonist is named Orla, which was switched to Beth for the film. According to The Cinemaholic, the film was intended to shoot at Lisbon, where the author’s actual holiday took place, but due to COVID complications, shifted to Croatia instead.
The ending of the film also veers away from the novel’s, as it is more concrete and fulfilling, as opposed to the major cliffhanger in the book.
While The Weekend Away is partially rooted in and inspired by the author’s reality, the thrilling film is still luckily very much a work of fiction and is not entirely based on a true story. It’s also great to see the Gossip Girl star back in film. As far as television series’ go, she also has a recurring role on Hulu’s How I Met Your Father and portrayed Angie on ABC’s Single Parents from 2018 until 2020. Alderson is also a notable author and has published several books, including the best-selling young adult books, The Sound, Hunting Lila, Losing Lila and Out of Control.
