Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Tara Fitzgerald makes a lovely Dona and Anthony Delon portrays the Frenchman pirate of the title, Jean Aubery, to perfection. In fact all the players were selected admirably: Rockingham is disturbingly sly and manipulative, William combines the right combination of sex appeal with devoted servitude and Harry exudes vulnerability and inner strength as Dona's husband. Just like Du Maurier intended them to be, fleshed out from the pages of her novel and set on the lonely wild coast of Cornwall.
My main objection to this film, if it can be called an objection, is that it fails to tell the story of the novel. Yes, the characters are not changed and the local is the same. What differs is the setting--this story is driven by the religious revolution of 1688--Catholic King James has fled to France as Protestant William of Orange marches in from the Netherlands. Lady Dona is a Catholic fleeing the eventual destruction of the court of which she is alligned. France has declared war on England at this crucial time and so the pirate is, in a sense doing his duty, rather than ravaging the English coast simply for his own amusement as he does in the novel. Navaronne, Lady Dona's estate is not the idyllic refuge of the book, it too has transformed into a battle ground where corpses litter the roads patrolled by befeathered Orangeman troops.
There are far too many differences in this film version to comment on individually, so instead I will say that it simply does not faithfully adhere to the story told in the novel. The adventure and romance remains, but even this is twisted to appeal to a more modern day audience. Most disturbing was the addition of tension between Dona and her young daughter which unfortunately weaves its way into the dinner scene at the film's climax. The producers most likely and sadly felt that the notion of a woman wanting to escape the life she thought at one time satisfying not meaningful enough for audiences who expect the Lifetime Channel's grander causes. There is none of the frivolity that makes Du Maurier's work a delightful escape albeit with a philosophical tone.
Despite its plot differences, the film still entertains. Lady Dona remains a free spirit encumbered by her station in life. As much as I enjoyed Anthony Devon's Jean,I would have liked to have seen what he would have brought to the man-without-a-cause depicted in the book. Whether this is how Du Maurier intended Frenchman's Creek to flow, the film provides an enjoyable two hours of entertainment.
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In search of peace and solitude, wealthy Dona St. Columb retreats to her country estate in Cornwall and discovers the exact opposite. Tara Fitzgerald (The Woman in White) and Anthony Delon recreate classic romance in Daphne du Maurier's enduring story of piracy and betrayal.
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