Starring: Karina Lombard, Nathaniel Parker, Claudia Robinson, Rachel Ward, Michael York
Director: John Duigan
Producer: Sara Risher
Screenplay: Jan Sharp, Carole Angier, and John Duigan from the book by Jean Rhys
Music: Stewart Copeland
Released by Fine Line Features
Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel to Charlotte Bronte's classic Jane Eyre. It explains in detail the history behind the mad West Indian wife that Rochester (Nathaniel Parker) keeps locked in the attic. When Rochester is first introduced, he's a fortune hunter, and Antoinette Cosway (Karina Lombard) is the object of his attention. She has a sizeable land holding in Jamaica that he wants for his own, so he entices her into marrying him. For a while, the couple seems genuinely happy, but eventually an ugly secret from Antoinette's past -- one that may also foretell her future doom -- comes to light.
Wide Sargasso Sea, faithful to the novel from which it is taken, is a sensual, beautifully photographed, poorly-paced motion picture. The first half-hour moves along nicely, but then the film bogs down, and, by the last fifteen minutes (which go by in blur), Wide Sargasso Sea has become stagnant.
Director John Duigan knows what he's doing in using a setting to convey feelings. Wide Sargasso Sea throbs with passion-laced imagery. His sweltering 1840s Jamaica is perfectly rendered as the backdrop for the tumultuous relationship between Antoinette and Rochester. Equal credit must go to cinematographer Geoff Burton, who helps craft the film's look.
Even with its uneven tone, Wide Sargasso Sea might have been a success had stronger actors taken the leading roles. While both Karina Lombard and Nathaniel Parker are pleasing to look at, neither is capable of delivering dialogue with any consistent degree of realism. The characters are not effectively realized, and, as a result, the storyline becomes plodding.
As a romance, Wide Sargasso Sea is mildly successful. As a tragedy, it's an unfortunate series of miscues. The fatal wedge in the marriage (the likelihood that Antoinette will eventually become as insane as her mother) is overplayed. The relationship between Antoinette and Rochester, which is developed with great skill, is torn down with far less concern for detail.
Ultimately, it isn't that Wide Sargasso Sea is a bad movie; rather, it's a question of how powerful it could have been with lead performers who could bolster, rather than mute, their characters. After all, it's an interest in Antoinette and Rochester that pulls the audience through the story's less-engrossing segments. As things are, it too often seems that this film is just treading water.
© 1993, 1996 James Berardinelli