katiespitfire

I was worried about this..I really didn't want to sully my memories of a beloved book and the teenage joys of 'Anne of Green Gables' with Megan Follows. *But*...I caved in and watched it and I'm so glad that I did. The 90s adaptation was great but so saccharin and didn't touch enough on Anne's background and just what she'd been exposed to before she came to live with the Cuthberts. Geraldine James and R.H Thomson play Marilla and Matthew so beautifully, Matthew has always been glossed over in previous adaptations and he's really crucial to Anne feeling loved and secure as a child. There are some really moving moments between them. Amybeth McNulty for me, really is Anne. She has the right amount of awkward and the ability to really play the more emotionally taxing scenes. Ably supported by a great cast (I love Corinne Koslo as Rachel!) I very much hope that we'll see a 2nd series.

I'd only seen Jesse Metcalfe in Desperate Housewives which didn't really flex his acting muscles, so I was a little wary of watching a film with him in the lead role. I was pleasantly surprised, he's a cracking actor and really rather wasted in lesser roles. He has bags of screen presence in this little film which is visually stunning in terms of scenery, certainly a great advert for the area. Someone already drew comparisons with the Capra-esque ideals of little man against the big corporation and this definitely has the charm and heart of a much older film. A sweet supporting cast of quirky characters make this a nice cosy watch for a Sunday afternoon.

I never expect too much from these made for TV movies. At best they're like internet fan fiction so I knew what to expect. The male lead is pretty good, the female lead isn't. Clarissa's parents are really cute but the rest of the supporting cast (with one or two exceptions) look like they were randomly selected off the street. If you're looking for the TV equivalent of 'Kalms' this is it.

It's bland, sweet fayre and won't win any awards but then it doesn't claim to either. Incidentally, the soundtrack is bloody awful, truly bad and spoils the decent moments of the film. One for a rainy afternoon with a big box of chocolates.