Wide Sargasso Sea (1993)

A prequel to "Jane Eyre." An Englishman in nineteenth-century Jamaica falls into a tortured marriage with a native Creole. When the woman begins to go mad, her husband takes her back to his gothic estate in England, where he locks her in the attic.

Interesting concept

This is the story of Mr. Rochester's mad wife and how they got together. I only gave this video 4 stars because I like the concept and the story itself was intriguing.
The editing wasn't all that great and the screenplay didn't do much for me. I didn't mind that it was erotic. You can choose your rating btw and watch hotter if you like. I watched the lesser "R" rating and wished there had been a PG. I really did not need to see Mr. Rochester naked, but some people may like that.
I liked that it was told in the wife's point of view. That was intriguing. I didn't like how it made Mr. Rochester look in parts because I thought it was unfair. But, I'm admittedly a Mr. Rochester fan so perhaps that's colored my opinion.
All in all I wish I had rented this. But if you can't rent it I think it is worth buying. June 18, 2008

Would be improved by more character development

I'm a great fan of _Jane Eyre_ but have not read _Wide Sargasso Sea_, though reviewers of the film say the book is better.

This could have been an excellent character film, showing how Rochester exaggerated his relationship with his wife "Bertha" to Jane. Was Mason the brother-in-law mad, and passing a hereditary madness on to "Bertha"? No, he and his brother (the one who married Antoinette/Bertha's widowed mother) were not only not even her biological relatives, they were merely dips. Was Antoinette's mother mad? According to Antoinette's account, merely grief-stricken, alcoholic, sexy, and socially inconvenient--hence, locked up by the men who had legal power over her. And why should Rochester believe the statements of Daniel the half-brother? First, Daniel is an extortionist. Second, his revelation that Antoinette's father had affairs with his slaves is deeply shocking to Rochester, who somehow blames it on Antoinette. While I'm not condoning it, many other slaveowners did the same, so it would hardly have shocked a period Jamaican. Rochester, in fact, consistently refuses to accept Jamaica--he's constantly complaining about the climate, doesn't understand the racial tensions, and so on.

Still, Rochester's character could have been developed more deeply. As for Antoinette, she's merely a one-dimensional "child of nature," devoted to long sleeps, sex, and an enjoyment of the sultry climate. Given that after her parents' death she seems to have been brought up in a Catholic boarding school, she should display more in the way of education, social graces, and well, character. A more rounded character would make Antoinette far more sympathetic. As it is, the viewer is tempted to side with Rochester in wanting a wife who is interested in more than sex.

And one thing that would have been far more powerful, is establishing Antoinette as locked up by Rochester merely as an inconvenience, an alcoholic wife who doesn't understand British culture. One scene with Rochester urging/paying a doctor to certify Antoinette as mad no matter what, would have done this beautifully.

Other than that, although Nathaniel Parker doesn't look bad in the nude, Antoinette is too scrawny (and seems unable to do anything with her hair other than a modern pageboy style, for in bed or out of it). In summary, the film would be far better with more emphasis on character and less on sex. I will say that the actors doing Afro-Haitian dance actually do it well, unlike the ludicrously stiff and unpractised attempts at walzing done by the actors playing British characters. Also, the scenery is gorgeous.



April 16, 2008

Nothing to do with "Jane Eyre"

If it were not for the characters who-- in name --resemble Bronte's 'Jane Eyre' ---this movie would barely stir the mild interest of a B movie. Yes, there is landscape and sex and an unsuccessful effort to create depth in characters-- so lets'leave it to that and enjoy the charm of a B movie.

Bertha Mason-- Rochester's wife (in "Jane Eyre") is not afflicted with any modern disease of loneliness, or anomie, or inability to adjust-- as the movie suggests-- but has inherited an unfortunate mental illness transmitted through generations in her family, topped by a streak of personal cruelty.

The Rochester before the book-- the youth in the movie is cruel and lacks compassion. Here's the paragraph that shows Rochester quite different than the one portrayed in the movie -- (Jane Eyre, Chapter 27) In the book, before their wedding, when the secret comes out, Jane Eyre asks Mr. Rochester if he would treat her-- were she mad-- the same way he's treating Bertha--"Jane, my little darling (so I will call you, for so you are), you don't know what you are talking about; you misjudge me again: it is not because she is mad I hate her. If you were mad, do you think I should hate you?" "I do indeed, sir." "Then you are mistaken, and you know nothing about me, and nothing about the sort of love of which I am capable. Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own: in pain and sickness it would still be dear. Your mind is my treasure, and if it were broken, it would be my treasure still: if you raved, my arms should confine you, and not a strait waistcoat--your grasp, even in fury, would have a charm for me: if you flew at me as wildly as that woman did this morning, I should receive you in an embrace, at least as fond as it would be restrictive. I should not shrink from you with disgust as I did from her: in your quiet moments you should have no watcher and no nurse but me; and I could hang over you with untiring tenderness, though you gave me no smile in return; and never weary of gazing into your eyes, though they had no longer a ray of recognition for me."

In summary-- judged on its own merits, not the book it rests on, the movie barely keeps the interest alive. If anything--- Christophene, Antoinette's nurse, a proud and wise Jamaican woman who embodies the spiritual traditions of her native land-- is worth watching. But that's 5 minutes of the movie.
September 3, 2007

Not Worth the money

I had a hard time figuring out what the movie was about. I'm a Nathanial Parker fan which was the reason for purchasing the movie. I thought the movie was very disjointed. Mr. Rochester (Parker) marries a woman with severe mental problems stemming from her childhood and voodoo.

September 3, 2007

nice prequel to Jane Eyre

Many reviewers here did not like this, but I found it quite interesting. You get the young Rochester, and this time around his pre-crazy wife is shown completely sympathetically, like a victim of his insensitivity rather than the curse hidden away (that he had to bear due to fate alone). In my opinion, this adds depth to the characters. It is easy, of course, to interpret her insanity as inevitable, but I saw it as a role that was created for her in the marriage, and it didn't need to be that way - Rochester allowed it to happen, even participated in it, and so bears some responsibility; he then abandons her once a better life-style opportunity arises. Also, the film stands very well on its own; it was only after I saw it that I realized it was the characters from Bronte. The acting is very good, particularly Lombard.

Warmly recommended. January 13, 2007

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