The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Brief Description:
A mysterious young woman arrives at Wildfell Hall, an old house of the Elizabethan era, with a young son. She is determined to lead an independent existence, but her new neighbours do not want to leave her alone. Only one of them, a young farmer, Gilbert Markham, succeeds in finding her secrets.
(from Wikipedia)
Date: 1996
Genre: period drama television serial adaptation
Running time: 2 hours 42 minutes (3 episodes)
Cast:
Toby Stephens – Gilbert Markham
Tara Fitzgerald – Helen Graham Huntingdon
Rupert Graves – Arthur Huntington
Sarah Badel – Rachel
Jackson Leach – Arthur Huntington Jr.
Sean Gallagher – Walter Hargrave
Jonathan Cake – Ralph Hattersley
Joe Absolom – Fergus Markham
Kenneth Cranham – Reverend Millward
Pam Ferris – Mrs. Markham
Cathy Murphy – Miss Myers
Paloma Baeza – Rose Markham
Aran Bell – Richard Wilson
Miranda Pleasence – Eliza Millward
James Purefoy – Frederick Lawrence
Kim Durham – Benson
Dominic Rowan – Lord Lowborough
Beatie Edney – Annabella Wilmot, Lady Lowborough
Janet Dale – Mrs. Wilson
Susannah Wise – Millicent Hargrave
Karen Westwood – Jane Wilson
Director: Mike Barker
Production company: BBC & WGBH
Based on: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
Wikipedia page
Watch on Archive
(watched on Tubi)
Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 4/5
I'm just a beginner when it comes to period dramas, so I don't have very much to compare this to. I was not a fan of the vocalizing in the beginning and the end, which felt super modern; but I was very impressed by the clothes and hairstyles, which looked pretty accurate to me. Of course I also loved the aesthetics and settings... overall, I was pretty satisfied. I loved the dresses, anyways 😉
Characters: 5/5
Judging purely off of looks: I think Tara Fitzgerald was a pretty good Helen. It's been a while since I read the book (only did so once) but I really liked how innocent and sweet her face looked. Graves was not as handsome as I thought Huntingdon would look, but I have no other quibbles. Stephens was a FANTASTIC Gilbert, I thought—looked like him and talked like him. And little Arthur was just cute :)
Plot: 4/5
I have mixed feelings on the plot. While they stuck pretty well to the actual story (as far as I recall; as I said, I only read the book once) they did snuck some extra themes in and remove the christianity. More on that later! It was, as expected, heavy and a little violent, dealing as it does with domestic violence and adultery; and I HATED the minister (I can't recall if I did in the book, or if this was exaggerated in the story). I did enjoy the however-will-they-get-together aspect again, anyways.
Theme/Message/Topics: 4/5
While Huntingdon still complains bitterly of Helen's morality, and she does object to his vices, it came across as more of a "she's just a good person" and much less "the power of Christ in her." She never explained why she chose to do these things, as she does in the book, nor ever discussed salvation with him (again, like the book) though he does complain of going to hell. The other theme they worked in was much more domestic violence. I can't recall how much physical violence is hinted at or plays on-screen in the book, but in this film Huntingdon is much more verbally and even occasionally physically abusive, and there's rarely a scene where he isn't screaming at Helen once they're married. They also added a good bit of sexual assault. I would have preferred to see it implied and not played out; but I understand it's something important to talk about and probably happened in the book, and it's certainly a part of domestic violence.
Romance: 2/5 (high)
As mentioned before, there are several scenes of Huntingdon forcing himself on Helen in episode 2. 1 scene happens in bed; in another, he throws her to the floor in a room; and then there are multiple scenes where he forces a kiss. There's also a scene where a friend of his forces kisses on her in episode 3. In episode 2, as well, you get a very wet kiss scene between Huntingdon and Helen before they're married. Later, after the wedding, comes a scene where he kisses her bare stomach and begins to undress her while talking of her beauty, immediately following which comes a scene where they're in bed together, quite bare, discussing how Huntingdon slept with a married woman. Later on, still in episode 2, there's a somewhat graphic birthing scene. Finally, in episode 2 or 3 (I forget) there's a scene where Huntingdon makes out with a friend's wife, but the camera pans quickly enough that all you see is them kissing and him shoving her to the wall (you can hear a few sounds for a few seconds after). Personally, I'm not sure if episode 2 is absolutely necessary to watch as I already know the plot of the book; but definitely if I rewatch it I would skip several scenes. Not just fast-forward, but actually physically skip. 😆 There's 2 kisses between Gilbert and Helen (episodes 1&3) but they're not very intense.
Content: 2/5 (high)
Apart from everything else mentioned, there's a lot of drinking and drunk people, possible 2-3 instances of swearing; and a very nasty preacher who in one scene preaches a violent sermon, implied to be against Helen, as the townsfolk are convinced she's having an affair. (Spoiler: the man who visits her at bight is her brother, and Helen is not one bit unfaithful.) Huntingdon wishes she was having an affair later on. He becomes ill in episode 3 and coughs blood; his eye bleeds in a certain shot. In another scene, he paints blood from a dead bird on his son and sends him to see Helen; Arthur Jr. then sees a canary in a cage and for one scene hurts it (the bird is seen dead shortly after).
Violence: 2/5 (medium)
Apart from everything else mentioned, there's a scene where Gilbert fights Helen's brother and cuts him about the face with a riding crop; also a scene where one of Huntingdon's friends starts to get physically abusive with his wife but Helen speaks up and the men ask him to stop, which he does.
Overall: 4/5
Overall, it's definitely for ages 18+ and not to be watched lightly, which I already suspected. As I mentioned, I'd skip some scenes, but I think I'd watch this again. I did enjoy a lot of it and it certainly makes me want to reread the book, which is totally fantastic. (You can read my review of that here.)
