DVD Review: Enchanted April (1992) - Page 2

There are not many action sequences, as one might expect, but there are many scenes that capture the feeling of time slowing to the point of almost stopping and allowing the women to almost forget the things that drove them away from their homes to this near-Eden. This is a film that tells the story by showing it to the viewer, letting the conversations and inner dialogues of the characters flesh out the details. With a look or a posture, the actors deftly convey their character's emotional and mental states without falling over the cliff of over-acting or relying on stock characterizations.

For the 2009 DVD release in the US, Miramax has included a commentary track by the producer and director, and it is the only extra feature aside from a handful of trailers. Newman does most of the talking, mainly regarding the weather. It rained most of the time they were in Italy, not that you would know it from the perpetual sunshine of the film. The two share other tidbits of making the film, the actors, and other relevant trivia, but mostly their comments seem to center on how what we are watching is either not the way they would have done it if they had more money, or that it was luck that allowed them to capture the scene the way they did. It is an interesting commentary track, but the story told in the film is so compelling that I found myself getting drawn into it and being annoyed by these people who kept talking over it.

Enchanted April is a beautiful story about the transformative power of love. It is a must-see for anyone with a heart who enjoys English period pieces, if the fine performances of Golden Globe Award-winning Miranda Richardson and Joan Plowright, as well as their co-stars Josie Lawrence and Polly Walker, are not reason enough.

Article Author: Anna Creech

Anna Creech is a librarian and blogger who dreams of a day when she can improve the ratio of read-to-unread books in her house.

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