Wide Sargasso Sea (1993)

The Age of Commercialism

Fresh and Exciting

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's 1844 Jamaica. Annette (Rachel Ward) is trying save her rundown family plantation after the emancipation of the slaves. Christophene is the only slave who stayed loyal. Annette has daughter Antoinette and drunkard husband Daniel Cosway. She marries Englishman Paul Mason (Michael York) who threatens to bring in coolies to replace the workers. With old hatred, the former slaves burn the mansion down. Annette goes mad and Paul Mason goes back to England. Some years later, Mason arranges Antoinette (Karina Lombard) to marry Edward Rochester (Nathaniel Parker) and they take over his island property.Karina Lombard is undoubtedly a beautiful woman. Her flat accent can either be exotic or put me to sleep. This time, she puts me to sleep. Nathaniel Parker isn't terribly charismatic either. This is a luscious overwrought melodramatic softcore porn movie. The harder it tries, the less compelling it is. It's boring and slower than molasses.

I've heard so many great things about the novel Wide Sargasso Sea and I expected this movie to at least live halfway up to its literary counterpart. Within the first ten minutes of the movie, however, the ludicrousness of the storyline reared its proverbial ugly head.First of all, the movie's treatment of Black Jamaicans reads like something out of a Jim Crow era film. They almost function like prop sets in the background and often have a sinister aura about them. Actually, they are the agents of evil in the film. It also doesn't help that the one "good" Black character engages in clichéd voodoo practices. This aspect of the film is downright nauseating.Secondly, Mr. Rochester's character is diametrically different from the Rochester of the Jane Eyre novel. Of course, the film depicts his earlier years before he develops into who he is in the novel, but give me a break! I refuse to believe that Mr. Rochester is really so stupid and bumbling at any point in his life. Thirdly, the sex scenes are positively eyeroll worthy. Deep breaths, sweat drenched skin, and tightly shut eye lids do not make a sex scene better. Geez, it was so amateur. It didn't even make me clutch my pearls.Overall, the film is terrible. From the manner in which it develops, to its treatment of the Black characters and Mr. Rochester, it's all just bad. I'm upset that I wasted my time watching it. And now I think I'm going to feel offended for the rest of the night.

Anyone who has ever read Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte's brooding masterpiece, knows the adult, world-weary Edward Rochester. They also know about the secret locked in the tower room of Thornfield Hall. What Charlotte never fully explains is how Mr. Rochester came to be the aloof, stony man he is and how is wife came to be mad.Well, The Wide Sargasso Sea attempts to answer those questions. In my opinion The Wide Sargasso Sea does an excellent job.This is a vivid and sensual film, and depending on the version you see, VERY explicit. But in this case I think the nudity and sexual activity is justified and not gratuitous. Nathaniel Parker gives a stunning performance as Rochester. I recommend this one.I like to watch The Wide Sargasso Sea first and then put on my VHS of the splendid A&E production of Jane Eyre with Ciarn Hinds as Rochester. The two follow each other beautifully and seen together, the puzzle of Edward Rochester is solved, at least to my satisfaction.

This movie takes a great, rich, wonderful novel and reduces it to the level of near soft porn. So much time is spent on silly, pointless nude scenes that the plot has to be severely condensed. Major plot points seem to happen suddenly, without context or explanation and characters are poorly developed And the nude scenes aren't even very good, they were just cheesy - after the second or third time Rochester and Antoinette stripped, I was laughing out loud.The film has some great Jamaican locations, but that's about the only good thing I can say for it.