Scarlett

I read the book 'Scarlett' by Alexandra Ripley and enjoyed it very much and I anticipated to TV movie. The thing was the movie was greatly different from the book. Honestly, if you read the book and saw the movie you would think they were two different stories. I believe the book had greater merit and a more interesting story. The movie wasn't that bad, its just that the book was better.

The is the mini-series that was inspired by the novel written by Alexandra Ripley.

The story begins at Melanie's funeral in Atlanta, GA. Rhett has decided to proceed with the divorce that he threaten to get from Scarlett. Poor Scarlett has schemed to get him back but to no avail. Eventually, Scarlett decides to visit her relatives on both sides of her family & we are whisked away to Ireland, the home of her father's ancestors due to a secret she's carrying.

Many plots take place in this mini-series. So many that the viewer may need a score card: 1) Scarlett's attempts to get Rhett back. 2) Rhett's attempts to forget Scarlett. 3) Scarlett's Irish branch of the family and an impending revolution. and 4) Scarlett's attempts to hide her secrets(she's got a ton of them!).

And that's just the the surface! There are two things that make this wild ride problematic: Too many sub plots and characters. When I first saw this on TV, I would get confused at times because there where so many new characters created just for this story. At times it would seem the writers would just draw plots out of thin air. Many of them are never resolved and are just left hanging.

For those of you that have seen "Gone with the Wind", I only recommend you see this film for the very same reason I did, I wanted to know what would happen to Scarlett. I also recommend you see "Gone with the Wind" first, then see this film.

The cast is top-notch, a who's who among TV & film actors alike spanning over three countries and so are the locales. You will travel from Atlanta, GA to Charleston, SC to London, England then to Ireland. The scenes that take place in Ireland will take your breathe away.

I will admit that this sequel does read like a soap opera which is why I only would recommend it to fans of the genre.

Having grown up with GWTW, I shunned both the "Scarlett" sequel book and the mini-series until now. When I recently viewed the video for the first time, I was amazed how much I enjoyed watching Timothy Dalton's depiction of Rhett Butler and Joanne Walley-Kilmer's as Scarlet. I feel "Scarlet" should be judged on its own merits rather than attempting any comparison with the venerable Selznick masterpiece GWTW. While the "Scarlet" story line and some of the dialogue suffered from lack of inspired writing, overall I thought this was a worthwhile dramatization of what might have been between Scarlett and Rhett.

I have leafed through enough derogatory comments on this miniseries that I will scream if I don't respond. As for the comparisons of Joanne Whalley (now minus the 'Kilmer') to Vivian Leigh and of Timothy Dalton to Clark Gable, "Scarlett" is not meant to replace the original "GWTW" any more than these two lead stars are meant to replace Clark and Gable! "Scarlett" is meant to be a good time, even if it isn't a classic. I like Mr. Dalton's roguish, believably disarming portrayal of Rhett Butler because he also makes his Rhett capable of feeling for other people, such as Anne. Only one word sums up Mr. Dalton: STUD! Ms. Whalley makes a charming if somewhat flawed Scarlett as her sororal relationship with cousin Colum O'Hara (Colm Meaney) reveals. Sean Bean's portrayal of Lord Fenton stands out the most for me because his Fenton is simultaneously a charming hottie (yes, Mr. Bean is just that--a hottie though he is a hottie who is also a father) and an unbelievably cruel racist, as the mistreated Mary Boyle (Tina Kellegher) finds out to her cost when he rejects her and their ill-fated unborn child. Scarlett soon wises up and tries to break up with him, only to find out Lord Fenton will not accept "No!" or "You're a loser!" or "This one-night-stand is over!" for an answer though he sure doesn't mind snarling those phrases out! "Scarlett" is certainly not meant for the easily squeamish. All I am going to say about the naysayers who don't think "Scarlett" deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as "GWTW" is this: Get over it and either enjoy its odd twists and turns or let the fans enjoy this miniseries without speaking in the fans' ears!

Overall, I enjoyed the movie Scarlett. I am a huge fan of Gone with the Wind. I have read the book and seen the classic movie many times. I even have a small collection of Scarlett O'Hara ornaments and other things. I must admit that Gone with the Wind is my all-time favourite book and movie. Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable are remarkable actors and two of my favourites. Unfortunately, I was unable to read the book Scarlett, but I was excited to see the movie. Truth be told, the movie is not any where close to the calibre of Gone with the Wind and neither are the actors. However, Joan Whalley Kilmer and Timothy Dalton were pleasant actors in the roles and at many times Joan sounded like Vivian Leigh in her portrayal of Scarlett. Dalton also portrayed Rhett well at times. It took some time getting used to the different actors, but overall I really enjoyed it ,being the fan of Gone with the Wind as I am. One major disappointment was that Joan did not have green eyes and Scarlett O'Hara and Vivian Leigh both did. I also found the Lord Fenton absolutely appalling and I did not like his character. If you are a Gone with the Wind fan and/or enjoy romantic stories, see the movie Scarlett. However, do not expect it to be remarkable like Gone with the Wind. It is far from it although it is interesting with the new characters and so on. I am happy it is not a remake and some of the events in the story was what I imagined the continuation to be of the Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler love story. If you haven't seen it today, get it tomorrow…after all tomorrow is another day. :)