No one sets out to make a bad movie, but I think this film had to have fallen short of what the filmmakers intended. One sign that they felt the script wasn't delivering the punch needed was the number of times the stars shed their clothes.
It's a pretty complex plot, and is the prelude to the story of "Jane Eyre". Set in the 1830's, it involves two generations of women living on a plantation in Jamaica. Antoinette Cosway (Karina Lombard), like her mother before her, marries an English gentleman; in her case this is Edward Rochester (Nathaniel Parker). She has been given the estate on the proviso that she marry an Englishman to manage it. For a while, Edward and Antoinette are happy, and can't leave each other alone, having many a sweaty encounter in the candlelit bedroom.
Then everything starts to unravel; the madness that runs in Antoinette's family begins to overwhelm her, and there is trouble with the servants. Edward has another hot and sweaty encounter in the bedroom, but this time it's with one of the servant girls. Edward heads off to England and it all ends in tears, flames and madness.
The over-the-top quality of the whole thing does give the film a certain energy, and there is frisson in naked trysting to the beat of voodoo drums, but there is a lot in the film that just doesn't gel.
Narration can be a lazy way to tell a story in movies. Although it has worked beautifully in some films, it seems laboured and overly literate in this one. The script problems are not helped by the awkwardness of the lead actors.
The film includes real locations in England and Jamaica but are shot in a very straightforward and unimaginative way. The actors and extras look as though they are simply dressed up - they don't inhabit the era at all.
Even the real sailing ships sit statically in calm waters, giving little sense of having crossed vast distances. This is a film that needed a touch of art directorial inspiration.
In fact, old studio films such as "Green Dolphin Street" or "Son of Fury", shot for the most part on the sound stage, with their sets teaming with extras and ships under full sail, caught the romance of exotic locales far better.
One element that really works is Stewart Copeland's score. I was surprised to hear motifs and themes that I was familiar with from his powerful score for "Rapa Nui", composed a year later. They are more embryonic here, but contain the same blend of exotic elements with atmospheric and thematic chords.
While not unwatchable by any means, the film has more than a few problems to overcome, not the least being an actress out of her depth, and little feeling for time and place.
It's a pretty complex plot, and is the prelude to the story of "Jane Eyre". Set in the 1830's, it involves two generations of women living on a plantation in Jamaica. Antoinette Cosway (Karina Lombard), like her mother before her, marries an English gentleman; in her case this is Edward Rochester (Nathaniel Parker). She has been given the estate on the proviso that she marry an Englishman to manage it. For a while, Edward and Antoinette are happy, and can't leave each other alone, having many a sweaty encounter in the candlelit bedroom.
Then everything starts to unravel; the madness that runs in Antoinette's family begins to overwhelm her, and there is trouble with the servants. Edward has another hot and sweaty encounter in the bedroom, but this time it's with one of the servant girls. Edward heads off to England and it all ends in tears, flames and madness.
The over-the-top quality of the whole thing does give the film a certain energy, and there is frisson in naked trysting to the beat of voodoo drums, but there is a lot in the film that just doesn't gel.
Narration can be a lazy way to tell a story in movies. Although it has worked beautifully in some films, it seems laboured and overly literate in this one. The script problems are not helped by the awkwardness of the lead actors.
The film includes real locations in England and Jamaica but are shot in a very straightforward and unimaginative way. The actors and extras look as though they are simply dressed up - they don't inhabit the era at all.
Even the real sailing ships sit statically in calm waters, giving little sense of having crossed vast distances. This is a film that needed a touch of art directorial inspiration.
In fact, old studio films such as "Green Dolphin Street" or "Son of Fury", shot for the most part on the sound stage, with their sets teaming with extras and ships under full sail, caught the romance of exotic locales far better.
One element that really works is Stewart Copeland's score. I was surprised to hear motifs and themes that I was familiar with from his powerful score for "Rapa Nui", composed a year later. They are more embryonic here, but contain the same blend of exotic elements with atmospheric and thematic chords.
While not unwatchable by any means, the film has more than a few problems to overcome, not the least being an actress out of her depth, and little feeling for time and place.