For some reason the filmmakers chose to make the character of Zeena Frome less unsympathetic than she is in the book. This change has consequences for the movie as a whole.
In Wharton's novel, Zeena is immediately established as a neurotic, spiteful, emotionally manipulative woman whose ever-shifting symptoms are probably psychosomatic. She subjects her long-suffering, good-natured husband to unending emotional abuse, belittling and guilt-tripping him while playing the victim.
In the movie, this side of Zeena is largely absent until the late stages of the story. All we know about her at first is that she's chronically ill. In Act 3 she becomes more openly malicious, but by that point she's figured out that Ethan has been unfaithful, so her bad behavior has some justification.
In making this change, the filmmakers may have hoped to avoid the stereotype of a shrewish wife, or perhaps they wanted a more balanced portrayal of the marriage. Whatever the intent, the result is that we have less sympathy for Ethan, who seems to be merely a bad husband who's forgotten the "in sickness and in health" phrase in his marriage vows. We also have less of a rooting interest in Ethan and Maddie's romance. All of which adds up to less emotional involvement for the viewer, or at least for me.
In other respects the movie is pretty good. Neeson was born to play Ethan Frome. The bleak winter atmosphere is effective. Period detail seems authentic. But the film just doesn't pack the punch of the book, because we don't have a strong enough reason to take Ethan's side.
In Wharton's novel, Zeena is immediately established as a neurotic, spiteful, emotionally manipulative woman whose ever-shifting symptoms are probably psychosomatic. She subjects her long-suffering, good-natured husband to unending emotional abuse, belittling and guilt-tripping him while playing the victim.
In the movie, this side of Zeena is largely absent until the late stages of the story. All we know about her at first is that she's chronically ill. In Act 3 she becomes more openly malicious, but by that point she's figured out that Ethan has been unfaithful, so her bad behavior has some justification.
In making this change, the filmmakers may have hoped to avoid the stereotype of a shrewish wife, or perhaps they wanted a more balanced portrayal of the marriage. Whatever the intent, the result is that we have less sympathy for Ethan, who seems to be merely a bad husband who's forgotten the "in sickness and in health" phrase in his marriage vows. We also have less of a rooting interest in Ethan and Maddie's romance. All of which adds up to less emotional involvement for the viewer, or at least for me.
In other respects the movie is pretty good. Neeson was born to play Ethan Frome. The bleak winter atmosphere is effective. Period detail seems authentic. But the film just doesn't pack the punch of the book, because we don't have a strong enough reason to take Ethan's side.