Bertha's story

Geoff Ellis comments on Radio Times about the new production of Wide Sargasso Sea that is broadcasted tonight (for UK viewers) on BBC4.

Wide Sargasso Sea
9:00pm - 10:25pm
BBC4

Here's the brilliant prequel to Jane Eyre - in effect, Bertha's story - adapted from Jean Rhys's illuminating 1966 novel. Rafe Spall stars as Rochester, a penniless younger son who marries a white creole heiress (Rebecca Hall) in the West Indies. But the gulf between them means their Jamaican idyll can't last. It's an extraordinary tale showing Charlotte Brontë's characters in a completely different light. Filmed on location in pared-down style, this is a compelling drama with sexually explicit scenes. The handsome cast does the highly-charged tale justice, laying bare a tragic love story and stirring up a soup of racial, colonial and gender issues. Imaginative programming - and compulsory viewing for Jane Eyre fans.

RT reviewer: Geoff Ellis

Rafe Spall,Nina Sosanya,Fraser Ayres,Victoria Hamilton

Complete cast and crew, here.

Categories: Movies-DVD-TV, Wide_Sargasso_Sea