The Reef

I'm giving this a 8 just to bump up its overall average a bit.

This production was more than just made for TV thing - the settings are quite beautiful and the costuming exquisitely and meticulously "period".

I thought Timothy Dalton and Sela Ward were quite good; indeed the director and camera crew framed Mr. Dalton in each and every of his scenes quite ravishingly handsomely. However, they effected their skills somewhat less effusively on Ms. Ward's portrayal, partly, I think because perhaps it was their interpretation of the original Edith Wharton story that Ward's character was meant to be a somewhat older and only sedately attractive woman, thus squandering Ms. Ward's natural beauty on screen, although that does nevertheless shine thru in certain scenes.

The problem is the supporting characters - Leslie Caron is rather too dithering as the matriarchal figure in the cast, and the two "young adults" in their performances are quite amateur or, perhaps, ill-directed. Alicia Witt maybe needed to be a bit more conniving and trashy to really be interesting.

But perhaps worst of all was the pacing of the film - which I think was meant to be Fin de siècle stately, but was just boringly slow, and practically ground down to a halt by a weighty full orchestral scoring fading in and out.

All that said, tho, it's a somewhat pleasant piece of eye candy thanks to Mr. Dalton, Ms. Ward, the costuming and the sets - I watched it twice and enjoyed it for what it is both times.

This is an adaptation of an Edith Wharton work, whose writing is amazing. Sadly, this movie never shakes the feeling that these 20th century movie people don't grasp the 19th century repression and desperation Wharton's work depicts. Ward and Dalton aren't so bad, but Alicia Witt's wooden performance made me wince. She was supposed to be playing the restless element of the story, but she stood like a stick the whole movie long, and I never believed a word out of her mouth. When she asks Sela Ward "Why can't I move you?" near the end of the film, I couldn't help but answer: "That's what I've been wondering for the last hour and a half!!!"

The movie was a mildly entertaining "made for t.v." love story with a handsome leading man, etc., but Timothy Dalton's character is such a cad. He is supposedly on his way to see the woman he loves (played by Sela Ward) and then because of one note from her takes up with a young woman in difficult circumstances (does not deliver the letter she asks him to post for her, essentially making her dependent on him totally) - and then takes advantage of her situation (sexually using her and then packing up and leaving). He proves himself over and over again to be a liar, cheat and cad. Then we are supposed to be happy that Sela Ward's character decides to forgive him and take him back in the end (even though she seems to be getting endless images of old Tim in bed with young Sophie!). Since it is based on an Edith Wharton novel, we can be sure the "working class" girl will not do well (although in this one she goes off to India with the old biddy, unlike Lily Bart in "The House of Mirth" who essentially dies of the neglect of everyone around her). This is obviously set in a previous time with different standards and expectations...but one would think that women in those days had brains and if so, Mr. Dalton's Mr. Darrow would be out in the cold (a la the ending of "The Heiress).

This was one of the worst films I have ever seen - VERY made for TV - but it was still very entertaining. I'm surprised that I watched the entire film, but then again, not really, because I love Timothy Dalton, and he is watchable in even bad films.

I suppose that to even attempt to enjoy this 'made for TV' production, a knowledge of Edith Wharton's works and the novel way in which she thought, given the age in which she lived, would be a great advantage. Then, if that knowledge was a given, Passion's Way, or The Reef (her novel) might have worked well had it been a British production and not an American one. The cast is OK with the exception of Timothy Dalton who plays Charles Darrow and cannot decide whether to be an American or an Englishman as his accent drifts from one side of the Atlantic to the other. For the rest, the production is very much let down by careless attention to detail. It is often the case in American productions that approximations of geographical locations are deemed to suffice and, whilst that might fool an American audience, it will not cut the mustard with the inhabitants of Europe who know full well their Paris from their Prague. These shortcomings were evident from the first few moments of the film. The novel (and this movie) explores the harm that is done when an unwise action causes ripples to spread out from it like a stone dropped in the middle of a pond, creating chaos for those who are innocently caught up in its maelstrom. This production really fails to convey that which is a pity. It does no justice to Edith Wharton's writing at all.