cbentivegna

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.