We all know the TV series goes WAY past the book in terms of storyline, whilst this 1990 version gets to about the same point as the book but the ending is slightly more "hopeful" if one can be happier with the world of Gilead, which anyone in their right mind cannot be.
The premise is the same - after a civil war the former United States has been taken over and is now governed as a theocracy based on the Old Testament. Women no longer have a status in Gilead other than to be wives and servants essentially.
It starts pretty much like the TV series but this time the protagonist is called Kate rather than June and is again caught trying to escape to the border with her husband and daughter. We don't see them again and Kate being found to be one of the 1 in 100 women in this world who is still fertile, is sentenced to work as a Handmaid.
This film goes through the process of her being forced into this role very quickly, going from the Red Centre to being assigned to her commander and his wife Serena Joy. In a way it's good that this happens quickly as we are spared a lot of the brutality shown to these "fallen" women as depicted in the TV series.
Whilst in the TV series Serena Joy is shown to be as nasty as the men in many ways, her character in the movie played by Faye Dunaway is almost sympathetic - more neurotic and anxious as opposed to cold and vicious in terms of trying to have a baby via Kate (now Offred) and her fertile womb. Again we are spared a lot of the brutality on screen, though of course ritualised rape is still rape and we do see a small scene depicting the "ceremony".
Kate/Offred in the film also doesn't seem to be as affected or traumatised by what has happened to her compared to the TV series. Yes she's angry and only wants to get back to her daughter and husband, but doesn't seem to be so almost completely hypnotically angry as she is played in the show. This is probably a mix of the script and how Natasha Richardson interpreted the character for the film. Kate here in some scenes especially with the commander almost seems to be happy and though not equal to him in status, talks to him almost like an equal. Trauma can have profound effects on people.
Visually this film is totally different too. Whilst Gilead in the TV show is dark, often raining and cold, Gilead here is almost like a twisted version of Stepford - very brightly lit, mostly sunny, and the costumes of the women almost match this look. It's actually visually very striking and something I really quite liked as it is so different to what I've known about this story due to the TV series.
The downsides to the film are generally that everything happens incredibly quickly and a lot of the awful world of Gilead is almost completely skirted over and very much implied rather than seen. Obviously this happens because of time limitations - you can't have the same level of exposition in a 100 minute film that you would expect in a TV show that is about to have its 6th and final season. What happens to Offred with Chauffeur Nick happens very quickly and seems to be over almost as soon as it began. In many ways the speed of the story in the film works favourably because we are spared a lot of the awful things depicted in the TV show. In fact the TV show is so slow as to be glacial and seems to relish focusing on the misery rather than moving the story forwards, especially in the first 3 seasons or so.
When the ending of the film comes it again happens very quickly and again doesn't take the same ending as the book, giving it in a way a much more final style.
To sum up for me, I quite liked this film. Obviously it's depicting a world most of us never want to see or experience ourselves, with women subjugated and subject to incredibly awful things, but for me as a piece of work this film has a lot to like in terms of visuals, there is almost some dark humour at times, and it goes along at a pace, whereas the TV show I have always said is something to be endured rather than enjoyed.
I'm glad I've watched this.
The premise is the same - after a civil war the former United States has been taken over and is now governed as a theocracy based on the Old Testament. Women no longer have a status in Gilead other than to be wives and servants essentially.
It starts pretty much like the TV series but this time the protagonist is called Kate rather than June and is again caught trying to escape to the border with her husband and daughter. We don't see them again and Kate being found to be one of the 1 in 100 women in this world who is still fertile, is sentenced to work as a Handmaid.
This film goes through the process of her being forced into this role very quickly, going from the Red Centre to being assigned to her commander and his wife Serena Joy. In a way it's good that this happens quickly as we are spared a lot of the brutality shown to these "fallen" women as depicted in the TV series.
Whilst in the TV series Serena Joy is shown to be as nasty as the men in many ways, her character in the movie played by Faye Dunaway is almost sympathetic - more neurotic and anxious as opposed to cold and vicious in terms of trying to have a baby via Kate (now Offred) and her fertile womb. Again we are spared a lot of the brutality on screen, though of course ritualised rape is still rape and we do see a small scene depicting the "ceremony".
Kate/Offred in the film also doesn't seem to be as affected or traumatised by what has happened to her compared to the TV series. Yes she's angry and only wants to get back to her daughter and husband, but doesn't seem to be so almost completely hypnotically angry as she is played in the show. This is probably a mix of the script and how Natasha Richardson interpreted the character for the film. Kate here in some scenes especially with the commander almost seems to be happy and though not equal to him in status, talks to him almost like an equal. Trauma can have profound effects on people.
Visually this film is totally different too. Whilst Gilead in the TV show is dark, often raining and cold, Gilead here is almost like a twisted version of Stepford - very brightly lit, mostly sunny, and the costumes of the women almost match this look. It's actually visually very striking and something I really quite liked as it is so different to what I've known about this story due to the TV series.
The downsides to the film are generally that everything happens incredibly quickly and a lot of the awful world of Gilead is almost completely skirted over and very much implied rather than seen. Obviously this happens because of time limitations - you can't have the same level of exposition in a 100 minute film that you would expect in a TV show that is about to have its 6th and final season. What happens to Offred with Chauffeur Nick happens very quickly and seems to be over almost as soon as it began. In many ways the speed of the story in the film works favourably because we are spared a lot of the awful things depicted in the TV show. In fact the TV show is so slow as to be glacial and seems to relish focusing on the misery rather than moving the story forwards, especially in the first 3 seasons or so.
When the ending of the film comes it again happens very quickly and again doesn't take the same ending as the book, giving it in a way a much more final style.
To sum up for me, I quite liked this film. Obviously it's depicting a world most of us never want to see or experience ourselves, with women subjugated and subject to incredibly awful things, but for me as a piece of work this film has a lot to like in terms of visuals, there is almost some dark humour at times, and it goes along at a pace, whereas the TV show I have always said is something to be endured rather than enjoyed.
I'm glad I've watched this.