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Thanks for the memories!

Load of rubbish!!

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The 1993 British-American television production ETHAN FROME is an adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1911 novel about star-crossed lovers in late 19th-century Massachusetts. Though Wharton was a wealthy New York socialite, she had glimpses of New England village life, and it was the harsh winters, dire poverty and cruel gossip of this region that she sought to portray. The eponymous character (played by Liam Neeson) is a young farmer in the fictional Massachusetts community of Starkfield, whose dreams of making something of himself are dashed by the early death of his parents and then his marriage to the sickly Zenobia "Zeena" Frome (Joan Allen). When Zeena's cousin beautiful cousin Mattie Silver (Patricia Arquette) comes to help out in the house, Ethan's heart is thawed, but ultimately the uncompromising conditions of Starkfield life bring Ethan and Mattie to a tragedy.The plot of a pair of star-crossed lovers is rather overdone, but ETHAN FROME is interesting in its depiction of a Massachusetts village in the late 19th century, complete with characters speaking in dialect and a description of country farmhouses. This adaptation does a decent job of presenting those strengths of the novel. It also offers an improvement on the novel in that it tweaks Wharton's risible climax -- Ethan and Mattie deciding to escape this cruel world by sledding down a hill into a big elm tree, the stupidest means of suicide in all of literature -- to be more believable.The adaption is flawed, however, by a number of factors. One is the decision to change the framing story of Wharton's novel. In the book, the visitor to Starkfield who spurs the flashback is an engineer who wonders why Frome is so taciturn. In this film, however, the visitor is the town's new preacher, just out of seminary, who protests against Frome being shunned by the town. Wharton's portrayal of a man who walls himself off by the world after multiple tragedies is replaced, then, by an element completely unknown to the novel: the castigation of the villagers as ignoring basic Christian charity. This has consequences for the ending, which is much less powerful than the novel. Another unwelcome change is that Ethan and Mattie sleep together, while in Wharton's novel the characters seem incapable under their dire circumstances of having even a physical relationship. Also, Liam Neeson offers some of the best acting in the film, but he's 10 years too old to play this role.I first saw this film when it was shown on PBS nearly two decades ago, and it works well enough as passive entertainment on television, but this is a second-rate affair in many ways and I cannot recommend getting the DVD.

The crippled body and unfriendly personality of Ethan Frome greets a newly arrived visitor in that small New England town where Frome has a farm. The town minister Tate Donovan tells the reason why.Back in the day Frome played here by Liam Neeson was a typical tightlipped New England farmer trying his best to eke out a living on the played out soil that characterized New England in the day. He has to do the work of two because his wife Joan Allen is a sickly sort. Out of desperation he hires a servant girl to be a live-in maid. The fetching Patricia Arquette brings out some emotions that Neeson hasn't felt in years. But this is a most conservative rural part of New England and besides Neeson has the usual guilt pangs in regard to Allen. In the end it all turns out rather badly for Neeson and Arquette and let's say in the matter physical and mental well being the tables have been drastically turned. Ethan Frome never got a big screen treatment before and I can see why, it's a real downer of a story. It ran as a play in 1936 on Broadway for 120 performances and it starred Raymond Massey, Pauline Frederick, and Ruth Gordon. No screen credit was given the play's authors so I guess it wasn't used in any way for the screen adaption. There was also a TV special which starred Sterling Hayden as Ethan Frome, casting very much in line with using Liam Neeson here.The cinematography depicting New England of the 1890s was superb I don't think Edith Wharton would have any complaints. I don't think it's the best of her novels though, I'm not even sure what the point of her story was. Still Neeson, Arquette, and Allen deliver fine performances and devotees of Edith Wharton should be pleased.

Based on the book by Edith Wharton, XIX century renowned American writer, is a drama that reflects in a painful way the sufferings of a poor peasant family in rural New England. Blend in the community that makes up this social group as well as in the family are elements of discrimination, abuse, confusion of values, insecurities, of indifference, lack of solidarity and passion that give the viewer a grim and sad picture about human dignity. An unknown narrator takes care to present the story to the viewer in flashback after the arrival of a new pastor who decide to visit his parishioners one by one until it meets with the main characters. The feeling that is transmitted, despite the excellent photography and beautiful winter scenery is depression and pain. Good performance by Liam Neeson. The book should be better.

Although I found the acting excellent, and the cinematography beautiful, I was extremely disappointed with the adaptation.One of the significant portions of the novella is the fact that Ethan and Mattie decide to kill themselves, rather than go on. This is never presented in the movie, they show it as if it were a sledding accident.The character changes in Mattie and Zenna are almost non-existent. While in the novella they almost change places, at the end of this adaptation it appears as if they are both invalids.Lastly that Mattie and Ethan consummate their relationship fully nearly destroys the power and poignancy of the finale.The change of the narrator being a preacher was one effective change.Neeson and Arquette are superb in their portrayals. Joan Allen was also wonderful, however her character was much watered down from Whartons novella.I do not expect films to faithfully portray novels, but this one went to far and in the process nearly destroyed the story.Overall, I would not recommend watching this film unless you have read the book as you will come away confused and disappointed.