''Wide Sargasso Sea'' is a 1993 Australian film directed by

John Duigan John Duigan (born 19 June 1949) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He is mostly known for his two autobiographical films '' The Year My Voice Broke'' and '' Flirting'', and the 1994 film '' Sirens'', which stars Hugh Grant. Bi ...

and starring

Karina Lombard Karina Lombard is a Tahitian-born American actress. She appeared as Isabel Two in ''Legends of the Fall'', as chief Nonhelema in ''Timeless'', and as Marina Ferrer in the first season of ''The L Word''. She has also appeared in the films '' Wid ...

and

Nathaniel Parker Nathaniel Parker (born 18 May 1962) is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series '' The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'', and Agravaine de Bois in the fourth series of ''Merlin''. Early life N ...

. It is an adaptation of

Jean Rhys Jean Rhys, ( ; born Ella Gwendolyn Rees Williams; 24 August 1890 – 14 May 1979) was a British novelist who was born and grew up in the Caribbean island of Dominica. From the age of 16, she mainly resided in England, where she was sent for he ...

's 1966 novel of the same name.

Premise

The novel and film explore Jean Rhys's account of the West Indian Creole heiress, here called Antoinette Cosway, who marries the Englishman Mr. Rochester, and becomes his "madwoman in the attic" featured in the novel ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

'' by

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...

. For a full-length summary see: plot summary of ''Wide Sargasso Sea''.

Cast

– Antoinette Cosway *

–

Edward Rochester Edward Fairfax Rochester (often referred to as Mr Rochester) is a character in Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel ''Jane Eyre''. The brooding master of Thornfield Hall, Rochester is the employer and eventual husband of the novel's titular protagonist ...

Rachel Ward Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is an English-Australian

– Annette Cosway *

Michael York Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television and stage actor. After performing on-stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Ro ...

– Paul Mason * Martine Beswick – Aunt Cora * Claudia Robinson – Christophene * Huw Christie Williams – Richard Mason * Casey Berna – Young Antoinette Cosway *

Rowena King Rowena in the Matter of Britain was the daughter of the purported Anglo-Saxon chief Hengist and wife of Vortigern, " King of the Britons". Presented as a beautiful '' femme fatale'', she won her people the Kingdom of Kent through her treachero ...

– Amelie * Ben Thomas – Daniel Cosway *

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...

– Fanny Grey

Release

Fine Line Features released the film for the United States market. The film was given a restrictive

NC-17 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures ...

rating due to its sexual content. Fine Line opted not to pursue a less restrictive, more marketable R rating.

Production

The screenplay was written by Australian director John Duigan, producer Jan Sharp, and

Carole Angier Carole Angier (born 30 October 1943) is an English biographer. She was born in London and was raised in Canada before moving back to the UK in her early twenties. She spent many years as a teacher, including periods at the Open University and Birk ...

, a Rhys biographer. John Duigan later said he did not enjoy the experience of making this film:

It was probably the only really unsatisfying interaction that I've had with a production company and I found that I had major disagreements with them and with the producers. It was unfortunate. Jan Sharp, the producer of the film, had the tenacity to get the film made, but she and I had differences of opinion. She was very well informed on the book, and I'm sure her opinions were arguable, as I like to think mine were, but when you have a situation like that, I think the overall project can suffer. I think the film did suffer from that division."Interview with John Duigan"
''Signet'', 28 April 1994 and 17 May 1997; accessed 18 November 2012

Reception

Before release in the United States, the film was caught up in changing classification rules for films. Largely because it contained full frontal male nudity, as well as erotic content, it was classified as

, which limited the number of theaters that would carry it. It received a largely favorable review by critic Vincent Canby of the ''New York Times''.Vincent Canby, "Review/Film, Mrs. Rochester No.1, Long Before 'Jane Eyre'"
''New York Times'', 16 April 1993; accessed 28 October 2018 He describes the lean Gothic romance film as "romantic" but "without soft edges. It is as cool, precise and hard as the Rhys prose." Canby also notes that the casting of Karina Lombard, who is half-

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

, adds an unstated racial dimension that is not part of the novel. ''Wide Sargasso Sea'' grossed $45,806 at the box office in Australia.

References

External links

* *
Review at JaneEyre.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wide Sargasso Sea (1993 Film) 1993 films Films based on British novels Films set in the 1840s Films set in Jamaica Films shot in Jamaica Australian erotic drama films 1990s English-language films Films directed by John Duigan Works based on Jane Eyre 1990s erotic drama films Films scored by Stewart Copeland 1993 drama films