Product: Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story
Rating: 1.0
Anne of Green Gables, the politically correct version
Like most other reviewers of this film I thought it was a horrible betrayal of both the books by LMM and their spirit. Like others when I first heard of this third film I had visions of the continuing story of Anne as told in the books by LMM. Imagine my disappointment to find that it was Anne in name only! I found myself wondering why the producers chose to tell a whole new story rather than continue to adapt the books. The only conclusion I could reach is that they could not bear portraying Anne as a contented wife and living the traditional life of a mother at the turn of the 20th century. It's true as the books continue Anne herself recedes into the background of the stories, becomes well, an adult, leaving most of her impish ways behind. But LMM then concentrates on the creation of a whole new set of youthful characters, Anne's children, who also have wonderful childhoods, romances, and grow up to fight in WWI with results that will leave a lump in any reader's throat. But I'm afraid that to modern sensibilities, after decades of radical feminism, Anne's character as it was developed by LMM was far too much of a "happy homemaker" for them to take. In short, they had no interest in an adult Anne living as an ordinary married woman at the turn of the twentieth century. Thus, this film where Anne lives as an independently employed professional woman, runs off to NY with Gilbert, the rushed wedding, and dodging shells on the warfront. Truly a dissappointing film all around. But there is still room for proper adaptations of the remaining Anne novels, even if they are made with different actors, and I'll welcome those if they're ever made.