Les Origines du péché

This is best viewed after watching Lifetime's other productions of the Dollanganger series adaptations from the VC Andrews novels. Like the book itself (Garden of Shadows), the impact of Flowers in the Attic (Book or film) will be lessened if this is watched first. It is a story that is written in retrospect. With that said, this lifetime series is probably better constructed and more heavily funded than the Lifetime adaptations that come later in the timeline. It's competent, compelling, and well-scripted material, even as watered down with a PG rating. Hannah Dodd as young Corrine fits a spitting image of Lifetime's future Corrine as Heather Graham. Honestly, it comes down to this: The VC Andrews source material is fantasticly dark, but also very mature, and will probably never get the on-screen justice it deserves. This is the closest any studio has come to re-creating it on film. Until an MA or R rated version of all this material is made, and a network is willing to fund a complete season per novel, this is the best there is and it is pretty good all things considered. At this point, Lifetime is way ahead of the game on VCA adaptations, so might as well just keep sticking with this working formula.

The twists and turns and family secrets (and forbidden affairs) are (on paper) as campy as it comes, but what makes this miniseries work is that everything is played straight when a lesser adaptation of VC Andrews' gothic novel "Garden of Shadows" (now called Flowers in the Attic: The Origin for the TV version) might have played it tongue in cheek. The earnestness works and the series expands upon the book by filling in blanks and showing more of the characters' motivations than the novel did. While the acting is slightly uneven at times, the performances generally work, particularly for the characters of Olivia, Nella (a character created specifically for the series), and young Corrine (who bears a striking resemblance to Heather Graham but delivers a better performance than Heather did playing an older version of the same character in the adaptation of Flowers in the Attic several years ago). The writing is clever and the direction and editing are often extremely suspenseful and sometimes haunting and scary. If your mind is open to watching and going along for the ride of a true old-fashioned miniseries family saga within the genre of "The Thorn Birds" and other popular miniseries from the 80s, then you won't be disappointed. Flowers in the Attic: The Origin is the most well-produced, twisted, and fun adaptation of a VC Andrews novel to date.

I really really enjoyed this! I really hope they remake the 2014 Flowers In The Attic lifetime movie in the style of FITA:The Origin! All of my friends love it and have watched it and we all really want them to redo the original series! The writing in this is SOOO much better than the VC Andrews books and they fill so many plot holes. Absolutely 10/10.

It is a shame to think that many people might skip this ambitious effort by Lifetime, thinking it will be one of their run-of-the-mill efforts, particularly their uneven adaptations of other books in the series. I first sampled it out of curiosity, thinking it could be some goofy, light summer fare. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this miniseries was shockingly good. I am as shocked as I would be had the Hallmark Channel has suddenly put something out that was of the same quality as THE THORN BIRDS. The acting, script, direction and design is excellent, and I believe this is worthy of Emmy nominations--this must have four times the budget of the typical Lifetime effort. This was a delicious, epic, fun ride through some gothic territory and well worth your time, particularly if you were a fan of the book series. If only they could give FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC and PETALS ON THE WIND (the two best books in the series) this much time and budget to tell their spellbinding stories.

I haven't seen The Flowers in the Attic series yet, so when this came out I decided to start with it. It is riveting. There are so many fingers in this movie, that it keeps you looking around the corner for the next "surprise". The actors do an amazing and hauntingly convincing job as their character's continue to grown and change. Throughly enjoyed this series.