The Pavilion

This was a very interesting movie that hooked me right away. I admit I started watching it because Richard Chamberlain was one of the stars and because it was based on a Robert Louis Stephenson book. The plot was full of layers upon layers of mystery and the dialogue was great. I had to watch to see what happened next. I really enjoyed the actors, especially Craig Sheffer.

But the last five minutes totally ruined the movie for me. It totally changed everything that had happened before and didn't make any sense at all, in context of the characters and how they had acted.

Yuk, horrible, horrible, stupid ending!!

I would reccommend this movie if not for the ending. And unfortunately it's not really one you can enjoy without seeing the ending because it's a mystery and you want to find out what happened.

Too bad it sucked so badly and betrayed everything we had previously seen in the rest of the movie.

Although "The Pavilion" had (very) limited theatrical release outside the USA in 2004-2005, it's actually copyrighted 1999 when, as far as I can tell, it was released to video in America. The story, based on Robert Louis Stevenson's short story, takes place around the time of the Civil War and involves a handful of characters and a white house (a "pavilion") on the coast of South Carolina. The four main characters are a father and his daughter (Richard Chamberlain and Patsy Kensit) and two mysterious men (Craig Sheffer and Daniel Riordan) who are in contention with each other. Peripheral characters are played by Dwight Ewell and Bianca Lawson, amongst a couple others.

Whilst the actors are fine and the Bald Eagle Island, NC, locations are magnificent, this is a decidedly low-budget film that didn't deserve any type of theatrical release, except art houses. Some classify it as a Western, but this isn't the case; it's a drama/mystery that takes place largely in 1865 on the Carolina coast. Outside of the time period and hats there are no Western staples of which to speak.

I don't like to give negative or even mediocre reviews to independent movies because I know the time and money it takes to create even a small film like this. Aside from the few notable actors, the end credits reveal that scores of people were involved in the making of "The Pavilion." In other words, a lot of time, money and effort went into this work. This is great, but you HAVE to tell an interesting story with characters that grab & maintain your attention one way or another. Unfortunately, this isn't the case here. I love independent films, as well as dramas, and I'm sure Stevenson's original story is great (why else would they try to make it into a full-length motion picture?), but the filmmakers needed to take the time to tweak the story in order to make it work in the format of a feature film. It's called cinematic adaptation. Another negative is the contrived revelation at the climax, which contradicts what we were led to believe up to that point and leaves a sour taste.

Still, I loved the stunning barrier island locations and Patsy Kensit is easy on the eyes, plus there are a couple of notable parts, albeit rather insignificant. For instance, the three men are at the dinner table and Clara (Patsy) walks in with this beautiful white dress whereupon the men - almost speechless with awe -- rise from their seats in her honor.

The film runs 94 minutes.

GRADE: D+ or C-

No pun intended - if you have seen Patsy in movies of the 90s you may understand the sentiment. I think for a lot of boys back then (and some girls I assume), she was someone ... people craved. Beautiful and talented actress - not sure if she retired or if she didn't get any good roles from one point on wards. Or just roles like this, where she doesn't really have to do much.

Still the movie is nicely structured - it makes ... well sense, until the end. Where I understand if some people have issues with the twist. On the other hand, I reckon quite a few could see that one coming. The actors do their best to entertain of course, so I wouldn't lay any blame on them, if you are disappointed in the end. Decent enough, if you like the subject matter and the setting.

Set partly in 1866 after the Civil War, when Cassilis is looking for something he had been searching for even in 1860, - plates for printing money. There is a flash-back to tell us about some incidents before, but the main drama is between Cassilis and Northmour, another soldier and their involvement with the Huddlestone family - a slightly mad man and his beautiful daughter Clara.

There are only eleven in the entire cast, and three of them only get a few minutes at the very start, so it is really easy to follow what is happening.

The acting is so good, the story is real, there are a couple of really good scenes with great dialogue.

OK, the final scene is a bit confusing, and I wonder if he is intending to kill Clara? Perhaps the book explains it better.