Subject:  Here I go again! |
Author:
Susan
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Date Posted: 16:02:35 10/18/06 Wed
In reply to:
Eva Danø
's message, "Jamaica Inn, a comparison between the different versions" on 12:33:12 09/12/06 Tue
OK, I know I'm nitpicking again (just like I did with the Blackbeard thing), but actually none of this ever occurred to me before now because, like I said, I never really stopped to think how they got from the inn to the cave, but maybe if they'd just called it, say, "Barbados Inn" ... instead of Jamaica Inn (which is a real place), I'd have a lot less trouble accepting the premise. Du Maurier's whole point in setting it at Jamaica Inn was that it was such an isolated locale, smack in the middle of the bleak Cornish moors. (She had actually stayed there one dark and stormy night, and that's how she got the idea for the story.) The reason she posits wreckers might have used it is that it was (at the time) the only inhabited structure on the long road between Bodmin and Launceston--its isolation making it an ideal place to hide the smuggled goods--and for wreckers from various parts of Cornwall to meet--and avoid being detected. (Of course, in real life, it was probably never used for that purpose. But that's the idea behind the story of Jamaica Inn, with its isolated, moorland setting being emphasized again and again.)
So in light of the fact that they called it "Jamaica Inn" and claimed it was based on du Maurier's novel, I can't help quibbling with the drastic changes. Especially because there is quite a bit of romance--and tension--between Mary and Jem in the book, and it's much more believable and compelling than in the movie. (And the way they meet is completely different. The original Jem is quite an enigmatic and fascinating character. I can see why they had to alter the villain somewhat to get him past the censors, but I don't see why they needed to change Jem's character or the setting so much. I know a lot happens in the book that would be hard to cram into a movie, but a lot of its length is due to detailed descriptions of the scenery (which to me is so beautiful it's like poetry), which could be accomplished with a quick pan of the camera on film, and they could have easily abbreviated her solitary moorland treks without losing much from the story. And some of her encounters with her abusive, drunken uncle (who still reminds me so much of James Brodie in Hatter's Castle) could have been shown, even if they had to be abbreviated too.
OK, now, with that out of my system, forgetting everything I know about the real Jamaica Inn and the book and taking the movie at face value, keeping in mind that this imaginary inn is near the harbor ... I like your idea; so he found the knife in the boat, eh? Maybe it's some kind of fishing knife. (Or do you suppose he had to grapple with the boat's owner and got it that way? That would have made for a little excitement.) And I agree that there wouldn't be any "romance" in the cave; with Jem's brains nearly bashed out and after all that rowing he surely had to do for the both of them and possibly having to struggle to get the boat and the knife, they probably fell right to sleep. Besides, did you notice her dress still looks completely fresh, not a wrinkle or even a spot of mud on it? Nevertheless, maybe she too hit her head at some point and that's where she got the amnesia about how she'd saved his life and how he'd helped her escape from her uncle who'd loudly sworn to kill her. (Still, you'd think with that head injury, *he'd* be the one who was disoriented in the morning.)
BTW, one other quibble I thought of (I know you're can't wait to hear more!) ... Where are all the Cornish accents in this movie? If ever there was a time for Bob to use one, it was then, don't you think? (Ironically, he's the one guy sent down from London ... yet he does have a Cornish surname.)
Oh well, I really shouldn't complain because the movie was what got me to read the book, which remains my favorite to this day, and if the movie had been called anything else, I'd probably never have known the book existed. And it was Robert Newton and Emlyn Williams I have to thank for making me enjoy the movie enough to want to read the book. It's just interesting to compare the book with the movie ... and being able to share my quibbles with the movie makes it much more palatable, in a Mystery Science Theatre kind of way! (If only I could post the whole Medved and Dreyfuss synopsis here without violating any copyright laws, I'm sure you'd get a kick out of it. It's a bit mean, but it really made me laugh ... at the age of 15 or so!)
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