Wide Sargasso Sea

Did you ever fantasize about being naked while watching Masterpiece Theatre? Or was it more than simply fantasy? Either way, Wide Sargasso Sea might just be your cup of tea.

Based on the novel by Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea is a loose "prequel" to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. (Since some of you may have been lucky enough to nap during English Lit, I'll try to fill in the gap.)

The connection rests upon the identity of a mysterious mad woman who is kept locked up in a room at the estate where Jane Eyre is employed as a governess. This unusual fact doesn't faze Jane as much as you would expect, since she falls in love with her employer, Mr. Rochester. Mr. Rochester (until this film, I thought his first name was "mister") has a strong tendency toward brooding and regularly exhibits a distinct S&M streak.  How can a girl say no?

On their wedding day, however, Jane discovers that this woman is actually Mr. Rochester's first wife. And they're not exactly divorced. Everything looks pretty grim, until the first Mrs. Rochester gets herself killed while torching the house. Everyone — except the insurance adjusters — discovers happiness.

Keep this in mind during the last 15 minutes of Wide Sargasso Sea. The film doesn't explain much, and the concluding blaze is left as an ambiguous freeze frame.

As for the rest of Wide Sargasso Sea, it's an attractive, but occasionally ponderous, romp in the Jamaican sun. Its deconstruction of Jane Eyre is meant to expose the crossroads among racism, European colonialism and sexuality. It ends up, however, playing like a James Ivory remake of Mandingo.

The first Mrs. Rochester is Antoinette Cosway, a West Indian heiress whose family manor is burned by their exslaves (she has a problem with fires). Her mother goes mad, and her English step-father deserts the family, but he does arrange a marriage for her with the young Edward Rochester (okay, so his first name isn't "mister").

Rochester arrives in Jamaica as a dutiful, but insipid, Brit, whose sexual inhibitions become obvious when he
stares fixedly at a pair of slimy eels. (He also consummates his marriage while still wearing suspenders.) But the West Indian warmth of his new bride thaws his chilly English exterior.

Despite its nudity, sex scenes and NC-17 rating, Wide Sargasso Sea is actually too tasteful for its own good. The film could have used Fassbinder's stylistic flair and gall. Instead, it receives the David Lean treatment.
Wide Sargasso Sea is a respectable adaptation — but not particularly daring or insightful.