It's 1844 Jamaica. Annette (Rachel Ward) is trying save her rundown family plantation after the emancipation of the slaves. Christophene is the only slave who stayed loyal. Annette has daughter Antoinette and drunkard husband Daniel Cosway. She marries Englishman Paul Mason (Michael York) who threatens to bring in coolies to replace the workers. With old hatred, the former slaves burn the mansion down. Annette goes mad and Paul Mason goes back to England. Some years later, Mason arranges Antoinette (Karina Lombard) to marry Edward Rochester (Nathaniel Parker) and they take over his island property.Karina Lombard is undoubtedly a beautiful woman. Her flat accent can either be exotic or put me to sleep. This time, she puts me to sleep. Nathaniel Parker isn't terribly charismatic either. This is a luscious overwrought melodramatic softcore porn movie. The harder it tries, the less compelling it is. It's boring and slower than molasses.

The movie is based on Jean Rhys' 1966 novel and is a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's 1847 classic Jane Eyre. Having read Rhys' book, I can attest that the movie is sufficiently true to the novel (it's always best not to expect too much in that respect). The first person account of Mrs. Rochester descent into madness is a tale from which you may find it difficult to pull away. It is set in the period of post 1833 Jamaican emancipation and it will immerse you in the life of British aristocracy living there at the time. The tension between Jamaicans and Brits, and even the riffs between the former and blacks from nearby Martinique is portrayed as I expected it to be, realistically. The Sargasso Sea is painted on screen as an ethereal place, one of almost psychedelic imagery, but quite pleasant though; it is in fact a very real region, not mystical nor mythical.We follow young Antoinette Cosway, played by Casey Berna on her journey from the time her mother, played by the beautiful and talented Rachel Ward, retreated from the outside world and went mad, till the time of her passing, which Antoinette claims happened in the burning of the family mansion. Then the mature Antoinette, played by the exquisite Karina Lombard, is forced to find a husband to retain and rescue the family estate from a plutonian demise. In comes Edward Rochester (yes, that's the Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre) played by Nathaniel Parker, who by marrying her assumes the land owner status he was destined for. The two have an idyllic honeymoon at home; we get to view Lombard's grace and beauty in sensual scenes with Parker, but this happiness is short lived as the couple's distrust of each other is fueled by Antoinette's entourage and Edward's new acquaintances on the island. The novel did not lead me to expect the level of sensuality you'll find in the movie, but I'm thankful it went that way.The cast includes characters such as Christophene, Amelie and Young Bull, who play an important part of Antoinette's life; they are played respectively by the mysterious Claudia Robinson, the seductive Rowena King and intimidating Paul Campbell. You should enjoy the cinematography, as the scenery is a nice escape from modern settings. The one thing that I always felt I wanted to know more about concerning the novel Jane Eyre, was the backstory of Mrs. Rochester; Jean Rhys' novel satisfied that thirst and if you don't wish to read it, only care to see the movie, then by all means see this one, go rent it if you can still find it. I liked it enough to buy it and I don't regret that one bit. By the way, the novel is really a short read so why not go for that if you care, as I did, for Mrs. Rochester's backstory; you'll find Rhys' style most pleasant (you can almost hear the period accent).

"Wide Sargasso Sea" is a very elegant, sexy, melodrama about the meaning of love. Young Creole girl Antoinette Conway is married to Englishman Edward Rochester, and the two move to her coastal home in Jamaica. Seeds of doubt are placed in Edward's mind by servants a mysterious man sending letters about Antoinette's mother, who went insane, and Edward fears that Antoinette, like her mother, will go mad. He turns a cold shoulder towards her, and unknowingly destroys his wife. Kinda slow, but worth it, it makes you think and has the feel of a gothic potboiler."Wide Sargasso Sea" is Unrated for graphic sexuality and nudity.NOTE: "Wide Sargasso Sea" is available in R-Rated and Unrated versions. The R-Rated version trims out two minutes of sex scenes, while the Unrated versions keeps them in.

Jean Rhys has taken seven years to finish the novel, on which the movie is supposed to be based on. However, this rated film seems to be only concentrating on the sexual relationship between Rochester and Antoinette, as well as Sandi and Antoinette. The relationship with Sandi is deliberately kept as question marks for readers to ponder upon in the novel, but here in the movie it is explicitly interpreted and the sympathy created by Rhys is lost. But the movie is nevertheless a representation of colors in the Caribbeans--red, purple, blue and green--the exotic side of life that has repeled Rochester.