So last week I tenatively began watching Netflix's new series "Anne with an E". Anne of Green Gables (along with the rest of the series) has long been one of the books that really defined my childhood. I have devoured the entire series multiple times as well as adoring the 1985 movies Anne of Green Gables and the 1987 Anne of Avonlea (But not Anne the Continuing Story - we don't talk about that one).
So it was with great hestitation and bated breath, that I began watching Anne with an E. At first, I was ok. But as more and more of the series commenced, I let out my breath and wallowed in disappointment. I did stick it out and finish it simply because I wanted to see if there was any salvaging my poor impression of it.
Before I get into the bad though, there was actually quite a lot I enjoyed. Amybeth McNulty was particularly well cast as Anne Shirley. She handled the frantic page of Anne's talking and imaginative flights of fancy quite well. She also looked the part extremely well, better even than Megan Follows did. However, I do wonder how they will deal with her if she doesn't grow up to be more beautiful as Anne does.
I also enjoyed Geraldine James' portrayal of Marilla and Lucas Jade Zumann's Gilbert. He was the perfect little saucy dreamboat that he needed to be so that all the girls would fall in love with him. I did enjoy the addition that Anne had to carry Gilbert's assignments to him so we could see them interact more. I was also thrilled that they included more backstory between Marilla and John Barry. It was gratifying to see a young Marilla and the understand a little bit more why she never married (I know the reason wasn't the same as in the book, but I felt like it was actually more in character for Marilla to turn down true love due to familial loyalty than to a fit of anger). I wasn't thrilled with Dalila Bela's Diana, but Diana is a fairly passive character in general so her bland portrayal doesn't really bother me.
AND ON TO THE BAD!!
Frankly, I didn't even make it to the end of the first episode before my heart sank to the bottom of my shoes and stayed there. The horrible additions that were made completely ruined the series for me.
"Producer Moira Walley-Beckett (who also produced the acclaimed series “Breaking Bad”) has said that she wanted to “push the boundaries” by creating a more dark and “realistic” adaptation. She certainly succeeded at changing the tone and atmosphere. But in so doing, she completely lost Anne."
Now I did not mind the additions referencing Anne's tragic past as much as others. As one reviewer pointed out, the falshbacks were probably fairly close to what an orphan would have really experienced. And Anne did reference her tragic past many times. I did feel like they went overboard on some of ther cruelty (Mr. Hammond and girls with the mouse, I'm looking at you) but that didn't put me off as much as some of the other additions did.
The main issues I had with the series are as follows:
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!
- Marilla and Matthew sending Anne away for the brooch debacle and then all the ensuing drama that had Matthew tearing off to rescue her.
- Matthew's vastly different personality and LOVE INTEREST!?!
- Making Gilbert an orphan
- Anne saving a house from fire
- Anne having such a hard time making friends and the town hating her.
- Anne's trip to sell off valuables because...
- Matthew is sick and Green Gables is overly mortgaged (although this is technically correct, it doesn't come up until much later after Matthew passes) which leads to...
- Scary (ruggedly handsome) thuggish thieves boarding at Green Gables and leaving us with a cliff hanger....
All of these things change such integral parts of the story line and just make me sad. I actually had to turn it off and come back later because I was so frustrated with them. To me the most egregious change they make is altering Matthew's story line. After I finished the series, I went and sat down with my dog eared copy of Anne of Green Gables in order to remember that the original series is as joyful and sweet as I remembered.
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