The Woman in White
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Movie Reviews of The Woman in White
Movie Review: Impossible to Reconcile the Violently Negative Reviews with the Favorable Ones
Summary: 5 Stars
I find it unusual that the reviews of this movie are so skewed at the very ends of the continuum of great to horrible. Whenever this happens, I am tempted to see the movie and judge for myself. That is what I suggest to viewers here. I have both read the book and seen the movie, and I, unusually it seems, like both. I obviously do not require pedantic faithfulness to the book in order to have a resulting good story.
It would take a lengthy mini-series to present this story as Wilkie Collins wrote it, and it is a magnificent book, in conception as well as in execution. It is written from the perspective of several characters in the book, and the differing viewpoints and their presentations are remarkably well done by Collins. The Moonstone may be the more popular of the two books, but Collins himself recognized the literary grandeur of The Woman in White, noting his authorship of it, not of The Moonstone, on his tombstone.
It would be immensely difficult, in my opinion, and probably would cost too much, to bring the book faithfully to the movie or television screen. This version is as good as we are likely to see, and, again in my opinion, this is a good version. If one has not read the book, and, as a practical matter, I think most viewers will not have, one will find this a compelling story, well told and uniformly well acted. Why should not those who have not read the book become familiar with Collins and this story and be entertained by it -- even if it is not entirely, or even largely, faith to the book? After all, there are many books that are not faithfully brought to production, but that does not necessarily mean that the story, as revised to fit time and pecuniary restraints of production, will not be entertaining. This story is.
So try it for yourself, even if you have read the book, and judge for yourself. Whenever I see such emotionally negative reviews, and when they are so intensely stated, resulting in so obviously distorted a view of the subject movie, I wonder if there is a reason, such as a somewhat narrow and tiresome attempt at display of learning (e.g., the reviewer, among few others sufficiently erudite, knows that this movie is quite different from the book), that accounts for the negativism, with no thought being given to the entertainment value of the movie, which should be the primary criterion of review.
Movie Review: Good Film-Noirish Type Film
Summary: 5 Stars
I highly recommend this movie. Ignore the bad reviews. Perhaps those who have read the book hold a bad opinion of the movie. Most films could benefit from English subtitles, rather than closed captions. I wish WGBH Boston and Warner Brothers would take the hint, as sometimes the English are difficult to understand. They speak softer than Americans, and often the dialect is different as well.Movie Review: Great romance/mystery!
Summary: 5 Stars
While the movie is not faithful to the book, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was made in 1998 so you can't expect the best cinematography like you would find in the newer movies. However, this movie has many great actors. I love the fact that it is a great mystery while also being a period piece. It is a wonderful combination. If you like romance and mystery you won't be disappointed!Movie Review: Are people watching the same movie?
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent version of the classic and by no means should have gotten some of the reviews it has been given. I simply don't understand what some people were looking for in a movie as it can't be exactly like the book, but when the story is told this well and the actors a excellent to my way of thinking it should be given 5 stars.Movie Review: This can be enjoyed as a movie inspired by Wilkie Collin's work, not as an adaptation
Summary: 4 Stars
If you are a purist or someone who cannot bear to see a favorite book chopped up when translated onto the big screen, then this movie will offend your sensibilities. However, if it is taken as a movie inspired by Wilkie Collins' The Woman In White, or as a very loose adaptation, then one might perhaps enjoy it, as I certainly did.
The story here [I am not going to compare it to the novel for there are many liberties taken with it in this movie version] centers around a pair of half-sisters who share a very close bond with each other - Marian [Tara Fitzgerald] is poor, and her sister Laura [Justine Waddell] is rich due to an inheritance from her mother. They both live with their decrepit eccentric uncle, Mr Fairlie [Ian Richardson] who has engaged a tutor for the girls, a Mr Walter Hartright [Andrew Lincoln] who immediately forms a close attachment to Laura. However, this attachment doesn't go very far for Laura is engaged to Sir Percival Glyde [James Wilby] who simpers and appears eager to please.
Amidst this setting, enters a mysterious character, a woman in white who appears at first to Mr Hartwright as he is walking to Mr Fairlie's estate at night, and then to the sisters. She turns out to be Anne Catherick [Susan Vilder] an escapee from an insane asylum who seems mentally unstable but passes cryptic comments that pique the interest of the sisters and Mr Hartwright. She alludes to a secret about Sir Glyde, but when confronted, he offers up convincing excuses.
The plot gets more complicated and events turn more sinister when Mr Hartwright is sent off packing by a scandal involving a servant, protesting his innocence all the way. Laura marries Sir Percival, and when Marian goes to the Glyde estate to await them after their honeymoon, she is greeted by a wan and taciturn Laura, who seems fearful of her new husband. Matters get worse when a sinister figure called Count Fosco [Simon Callow] arrives as Sir Percival's guest and after that events take one malignant turn after another. It is left to Marian to put the pieces of the puzzle together and get to the bottom of things, all centred around the woman in white, Anne Catherick and her cryptic remarks.
The story as it unfolds here is riveting - the plot is well-written [if you stop comparing it to the novel, and provide for the time constraint, where the 500+ book is squeezed into a 2 hr movie] and the acting is above average. Though Tara Fitzgerald is a bit too pretty to play the role of Marian, she is very convincing in her role as the determined, and bold sister who attempts to solve the mystery despite all odds. Justine Waddell who has made a career of playing period roles, from the tragic Tess in Tess of the D'urbervilles and also in Wives and Daughters, is also convincing as the naive and trusting Laura. I also thought Susan Vidler's Anne Catherick to be intriguing and well-portrayed, conveying a truly tragic and sad character. Adie Allen's servant turned housekeeper turned mistress of her own home, Margaret Porcher was well-done indeed, convincingly portraying the transformation of her character from servile to malignant.
The men are not altogether memorable, and I feel that here it was a bit of a letdown for the character of the Count especially. He was a truly malignant character in the book, yet here we don't really see that development all that clearly, and Simon Callow seems to be a bit insipid in his portrayal of the ruthless Count. James Wilby is oily enough as Sir Percival Glyde and Ian Richardson is actually quite a scene stealer in his portrayal of the decrepit, fussy uncle. But on the whole, it is the female actors who bring depth to the story.
The sets are wonderful, and the cinematography is well-done. The lighting and other technical elements serve to heighten the atmosphere, providing a lush and suitably sinister backdrop to a gothic story of suspense and evil.
I liked this retelling of the classic and though it does not do justice to Wilkie Collin's masterpiece, this is definitely a movie that can be enjoyed on its own merits and taken as an inspired take on the classic tale.