I have to do a fangirl rant. I’m sorry.
I’d like to take to take a minute (just sit right there) to talk about that Anne of Green Gables TV movie that just came out on PBS.
I have feelings about this, as someone who is obsessed with Anne, but also as, like, a person who watches movies.
So, first of all, yes, I am definitely biased toward the Megan Follows versions from the ‘80s. It’s probably hard for anyone who wants to make a new Anne film or series to win those people over. I know this. But this movie was frustrating to watch.
So there were probably one hundred red flags that made me mad while watching this. Within the first few minutes, the story had been changed a bunch of times, and it continued to be changed throughout. Sometimes the changes were things that were very fundamental to the story of Anne and the characters therein, and sometimes they were more inconsequential changes. That was just as infuriating, because in those cases, it seemed like there had been no discernible reason why the change had to be made.
And, yes, obviously Kevin Sullivan made a TON of changes and shifted the story around when he made his versions. But I feel like, even though his version of the story went kind of off the rails, he kept very fundamental aspects of the story that were important in the books. All the main characters– Anne, Gilbert, Diana, Matthew, Marilla, and Mrs. Lynde– are represented accurately and given enough spotlight, and are all played by incredibly talented and capable actors. The dialogue is fantastic. The romanticized scenes painted by Montgomery in her passages are fleshed out in the music and quaint vignettes of each scene. It’s romantic and emotionally engaging.
This is not true for PBS’s version. As I said. The changes. One of the most upsetting ones for me was that Matthew’s character was almost completely altered. In the book, Matthew is a very quiet, extremely introverted and shy man, who barely talks, and rarely asserts his own opinion. He absolutely dreads talking to women except for his own sister, he’s barely left his own property, and he’s never, ever, courted anyone. In this movie, he’s…sort of shy…I guess? But he has no problem chatting it up with everyone around him, he calls Anne “Miss Anne” all the time, and he used to date, but the island was too small to meet The One, so that’s why he’s single! I think Martin Sheen must have pushed for some serious character development. He didn’t die in this version…uh-oh, I smell a spinoff!
Martin Sheen as Matthew, hauling ass across a frozen lake to save Anne, who fell through the ice on a dare from Josie Pye. This is actual dialogue from Matthew while Anne cries: “Hold on, Kindred Spirit. I’m gonna get you out. Yes, Miss Anne with an E. Yes.” I’m not sure why this was thrown in to replace the Anne-falling-off-of-a-roof scene, like, I could not even venture a guess.
Here’s another major thing I can’t wrap my mind around: Marilla and Matthew (who keep calling each other “my brother” and “my sister,” btw) keep Anne at Green Gables temporarily for a REALLY long time– like, a year? And then they find out someone is finally willing to take Anne and they almost give her up. Was there just no discussion about whether she was staying or not for a year?
Most of this movie left me wondering which audience they were trying to gear it toward. I don’t think it would hold a kid’s attention, honestly. It’s slow, with a very real-life style of cinematography, and the cast didn’t really deliver their lines with any emphasis; in fact, it seemed like there was some ad-libbing or straight-up line-forgetting a few times. The music didn’t draw me in, I felt no emotional attachment to the story most of the time. Marilla berates Anne for talking too much and for being an impossible child, but here she’s, like, a normal child who talks a normal amount. The scene where Anne yells at Mrs. Lynde is bizarre. Mrs. Lynde prides herself on speaking her mind…but not on looking presentable! Anne and Diana do British accents during the raspberry cordial scene. I could go on.
On the other hand, I thought the amethyst brooch and Christmas concert scenes were great and it’s cool that Anne is shown doing chores!
Oh, and this is little baby Gilbert Blythe, who now seems to be the same age as Anne instead of three years older, and tbh I’m kind of glad this dude is in for 10-ish years of emotional torment!
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