Ethan Frome (1993)

Just what I expected

Good concept, poorly executed.

Fantastic!

Crappy film

Very good adaptation of a classic book. The characters in the novel: Zeena, Maggie and Ethan, are etched on to full screen very much as they appear in Edith Wharton's novel. The despair of poverty and isolation is poignant in this starkly beautiful film. The most intriguing aspects of the film center on Ethan's wife, Zeena, even though she is not a co-protagonist. Patricia Arquette is riveting as a girl of personality and looks who nevertheless has no options in life. Perfect casting, acting and dialogue. Gives you an intense, visual sense of the time and place. Suspense emerges from character. The end is truly a surprise though a surprise ending was not necessary. This is a memorable film.

Based on the novel, Ethan Frome (1911), by Edith Wharton.I watched the movie, then I read the book, then I watched the movie again (and again), it's easier than reading the book again, but I'm going to do that too. For my taste, the book and the movie are interchangeable. Knowing the ending doesn't reduce the dreadful intensity of this story that gets ever more sad from beginning to end. The love story breaks through the arid shell of real life—oh, so briefly…Ethan (Neeson) wants more, Mattie (Arquette) wants more, the viewer wants more… Every other character in the story seems to, well, not "want" less but be all too righteously satisfied with less. Except for a brief whirl of a dance scene, there are no smiles on the faces of any of the other characters who live dried up lives, and disdain the spark of love and life in Ethan and Mattie. Doubtless, the town folk see a pitiless moral lesson in the damaged life of Ethan Frome and the love he must keep stuffed inside him. I see a man and a woman who share forbidden love, but don't know what to do about it, and grotesquely fail to snuff it out. Read more on my blog: Barley Literate

When Richard Nelson set out to adapt Edith Wharton's classic novel Ethan Frome to the silver screen, he could have never imaged that he would surpass the novel in quality. Marvelous casting and cinematography, as well as a befitting musical score by Rachel Portman, create the perfect audio/visual setting for an American classic.Ethan Frome is the story of a man broken by his illicit love for his wife's housekeeper cousin. Starting from the present, the story flashes back to many years earlier before the accident that crippled Ethan. His wife Zeena becomes sick and sends for her cousin Mattie to take care of her. Ethan and Mattie fall deeply in love while Zeena becomes sicker and sicker.While staying largely true to the novel, Richard Nelson makes changes to the story that perhaps Edith Wharton should have considered when writing her tragedy. The identity of the character investigating into Ethan's past has been altered from an engineer to a preacher, a more sensible profession in the context of the story. The depth of Ethan's relationship with Mattie also goes much deeper then in the novel. While perhaps this change could be criticized, it works better for the modern audience in understanding events to come. One of these events, an attempted suicide by Ethan's lover Mattie, was absent from the book yet again helps the viewing audience to feel the intense emotions of the movie. Well-chosen deletions from the book also help pacing while not infringing on its essence.Perhaps the greatest attribute of "Ethan Frome" is its high-quality acting. Liam Neeson, staring as Ethan Frome, delivers an astounding performance. Perfecting both his character's physical ailment and emotional turmoil, he communicates the part as though it was written for him. Patricia Arquette equalizes Neeson's performance as Ethan's forbidden love Mattie Silver. There are several scenes in which dialogue is not needed to understand what Arquette's character is feeling. Lastly, Joan Allen does a phenomenal job in portraying Ethan's sickly wife Zeena. Though not as antagonistic as in the novel, she none-the-less conveys a meaningful performance.What gives the movie version of Ethan Frome the edge over its book counterpart is the visual experience and the haunting soundtrack. The camera truly captures the melancholy of the land. There is not a moment in which the atmosphere of the setting does not match the emotional performance of the actors. Rachel Portman also composes a recurrent theme that portrays the spirit of the novel. The music, along with the camera work, help to set the kind of mood that words cannot in this instance. "Ethan Frome" wonderfully tells the story that Edith Wharton meant to in her novel. Outstanding acting and beautiful camera work make "Ethan Frome" a deeply moving film. Those who read the book will be mystified by the superiority of the movie over the novel. Those just interested in a heartfelt tale of forbidden love will not be disappointed either. Though it runs just over an hour-and-a-half, it is paced well and does not rush. As a whole, "Ethan Frome" is highly recommended.

These are New England country folks, as quiet and as repressed as they are in Edith Wharton's novel. Not so much repressed, actually, as they are clumsy and inexperienced. When something extraordinary happens to their emotions, they scarcely know what to do. This conflict has been played for laughs by many writers over the years, because it does lend itself to comedy. Wharton chose to write a tragedy, and this movie captures the essence of Wharton's vision far better than The Age of Innocence, thanks largely to the direction and the superb cast. Highly recommended.