Basil

"Basil" is a film that has all the ingredients of a classic soap opera. There's plenty of love deception, jealousy, a rich man who falls in love with a poor girl etc. But that's not one more and forgettable soap opera like the others. First of all, the film is based on a novel written by Wilkie Collins, one of the most important English writers of the 19o. century (a great friend of Charles Dickens) and that makes a great difference. On the other hand, this film has a nice direction and a fine cast, never sliding in hollow sentimentalism. Maybe the only negative point is that the plot is too predictable but even though you can still have a good time watching the film.

This movie is based on Wilkie Collins' (author of Moonstone and Woman int White) little known 2nd novel "Basil". The story is an unexpected combination of a Victorian Gothic novel with lust, passion, betrayal, revenge and more. It comes across as more sensational and modern than one would expect from a story from the mid 1800s. I think the screenplay expanded upon the novel. The plot twists are quite startling and some aspects of the story don't make that much sense in a but it's a suspenseful and satisfying yarn to watch on screen.

The filming is quite well done with atmospheric locations and sets. The cast is interesting with Jared Leto and Christian Slater both playing English characters with accents that aren't quite spot on of course. Half Italian Claire Forlani plays an English lady although she has a slightly Mediterranean look.

Instead of watching another adaptation of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights give this one a chance.

In Basil's secret and unconsummated marriage to the linen-draper's sexually precocious daughter, and the shocking betrayal, insanity, and death that follow, novelist Wilkie Collins reveals the bustling, commercial London of the nineteenth century wreaking its vengeance on a still powerful aristocratic world. Contemporary reviewers of the novel vehemently disapproved of that explicit treatment of adultery; and even today the passionate and lurid atmosphere Collins creates still has the power to disturb. 'Basil' has a good basic plot, but the protagonist is difficult to like. His reasoning is unconvincing, and his actions verge on stupidity. There are also plot holes, things that just don't make logical sense. Basil has flaws, but it began the mystery thriller that Collins would adopt later on in The Moonstone and The woman in white. Whereas in 'The Moonstone' things are difficult to predict, and unable to see where things are going, 'Basil' isn't discreet enough, there are no red herrings, what you read are the glaringly obvious hints that lead the story on and lead you to guess the subsequent events. This makes watching 'Basil' a lot less thrilling. There is too much foreshadowing, and too much of it is made very clear. Oddly enough, Basil is more popular among all the movie versions of Collins' works. It is far from being the best of them, though.

I watched this movie on AMC yesterday afternoon. I was glued to my television set for 2 hours. I didn't move a muscle. I must say that most of my faith in Christian Slater is restored. His work in this film is superb. I attempted to explain this movie to someone, but it was just too complicated. The story was excellent! Unfortunately, this film wasn't released in theaters. I certainly would have paid $6.50 to see it again.

I must admit, Jared was the hook, but it was the story that kept me interested. Not quite 'Dangerous Liaisons' or 'The Remains of the Day', but this film was very enjoyable. Jared Leto and Christian Slater both did fine jobs playing Brits and I would recommend this film to anyone.