one of the best movies ever made) would be like nails on a chalkboard. And yet, there is one significant subplot from Peter Benchley’s original book, on which the film is based, that Spielberg quite rightfully omitted. In addition to the battle between the film’s three leads and a human-eating machine, Benchley’s novel contained something far more scandalous and sordid — something that’s never even hinted at in the movie version. It’s a threat that creeps right up the beaches of Amity Island and onto Chief Brody’s (Roy Scheider in Spielberg’s film) doorstep: a romantic affair between his wife and the educated outsider Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss).
Initially, in Benchley’s version of the story, the stark social divide between Brody and the beach-based business owners of Amity contrasts sharply with his simple interactions with his wife Ellen (Lorraine Gary). At the same time, Ellen emerges as a more developed character who’s grappling with her own challenges. Trapped on the island and longing for a life beyond its shores, Ellen is instantly drawn to Hooper, a young, spirited ichthyologist and the brother of a man she dated before meeting her husband. Eventually, the pair even have a secret rendezvous, which goes on to play a crucial part in the rest of the narrative. By the end, however, both of Brody’s problems are lost to the sea when the chief emerges as the sole survivor in the final showdown between humanity and shark-kind.
