Review of Ethan Frome (1993) by James H — 02 Apr 2017

For the most part, this film is an excellent adaptation from the novel by Edith Warton, the same author that brought us "The Age of Innocence". For high school Language Arts teachers, this film is a must. Yet history teachers who wish to help students paint a picture of what rural New England might have felt like in the 19th century will also find this adaptation beneficial. Certain scenes depict not only the nuanced acting of the love triangle of characters Frome (Liam Neeson), distance cousin and later wife Zeena (Joan Allen), and Zeena's distant relative Mattie Silver (Patricia Arquette) but the social-economic realities that impact their lives.

If not for the nuanced direction of realisateur John Madden (later known for "Shakespeare in Love") the movie would suffer for scene editing that does not prove consistent throughout. Whether we can blame Wharton's original narration for drawing out indulgent character scenes at sacrifice to plot or the film's producers (Miramax) for not cutting down their script before heading to production, they are both to blame. For example, after Mattie recovers from her ailments and becomes the rose of the town (note the change in clothing), there seems to be an eon between the night of the dance and Ethan's and Mattie's engaged motions towards each other. I suppose the producers were looking for 'reality' but movies goers, even the most hoity-toity, sit down in a theatre and are expected to escape into another time and place-- that is, movies need to move.

The climactic scene on the toboggan could have been better foreshadowed since it came out more pathetic than tragic. If it can be imagined that the audience have witnessed the death of a child sometime in the expositional time of the story, it would have brought more emotional weight to that scene.

Again, a must for English or History teachers. It is also for mature adults who wish to see the consequences of forbidden love where morality is the only counter balance in a bleak, rustic, loveless wilderness.