Our rating: 4 out of 5

Rated: Not Rated (PG)

reviewed by: Emilee Somers
 

"Goosebumps... those little fingerprints of truth," quotes the dreamy-eyed girl to her dying father, the only remaining member of her tight-knit family. A headstrong young heroine, Emily longs to put pen to paper, trusting in her father's assurance that she is already a writer.

Like other film adaptations of Lucy Maud Montgomery's novels, Emily of New Moon follows the adventures of a young orphan girl in the 1890s. After the death of her parents, 12-year-old Emily Starr is sent to live at New Moon, the Prince Edward Island home of her harsh Aunt Elizabeth, sweet but shy Aunt Laura, and Cousin Jimmy. Emily struggles to adapt to her new surroundings, finding her Aunt Elizabeth mean, her teacher strict and insensitive, and her schoolmates unfriendly. But she soon makes friends with the local tomboy, the uneducated but jolly farmhand, and the quiet but talented artist who sits next to her in school. Together, the children form a support group that is otherwise missing in all of their lives. At New Moon, Emily is drawn to Aunt Laura, whose timid, suppressed nature hides a painful and mysterious past, and Cousin Jimmy, who received a head injury as a child that left him gentle and intuitive.

With a sweet and imaginative spirit, Emily learns to survive in her new surroundings. As a budding authoress, she seeks solace in her diary but, forbidden by Aunt Elizabeth to write or read novels, she is forced to scribble on the back of scrap paper hidden in the attic. Depressed and discouraged at first, Emily's love for mystery and excitement is incorrigible, and with an acute awareness of the pain and suffering around her, she befriends her helpless or poor neighbors. With a creative mind and stubborn refusal to be stifled by her old-fashioned aunt, Emily brings light and life to the formerly dead New Moon.

There is a spiritual element to the series that has earned it a reputation for being "weird." Emily sees ghosts. Not haunted-house ghosts, but the friendly spirits of friends or relatives who appear (dressed in bright colors to distinguish them from living people) to comfort her, such as the grandmother who consoles her after her parents' deaths or solicit her aid, like the woman who cannot rest in peace until her reputation is cleared. Emily keeps this ability to herself and is neither frightened nor disgruntled at the ghosts' frequent appearances, but welcomes them. In one episode only does a ghost take a more disturbing form, as Emily sees what she calls a "demon of winter," but which is in reality a troublesome raccoon; whether or not the demon exists or is merely a figment of Emily's imagination is left to the viewer to decide. Emily regularly writes to her father on "the road to heaven," where he promised to wait for her.

Unfortunately, in these 13 episodes the director chose to include some more mature elements in what is otherwise a family show. A tomboy occasionally flaunts some less-than-choice language (including d*** and a**). Several references are made to extra-marital affairs and babies born out of wedlock; the children help a single mother, hiding her and actually helping her give birth. The young woman is referred to as a "fallen angel" and explains to the curious girls, in a somewhat vague way, where babies come from. The daughter of the local doctor describes spying on her father's patient examinations, including getting a full glimpse of one patient's privates. Emily visits a notorious aunt who makes repeated references to her gentlemen friends' "nice bums." The farmhand strips to warm himself before the fire; nothing is seen as he holds a shirt in front of himself, and the scene is played for laughs. A young boy wets his pants in school under the teasing of his vicious schoolmates. The children run away to see a criminal hung, but regret it as they are haunted by the memory. A man struggles with alcohol in one episode, and a woman who is prescribed laudanum by her doctor finds herself slowly becoming dependent. A man is ordered to drown a cat; the animal survives, but the suspense is traumatizing for Emily. At the very beginning of the series, Emily envisions the Grim Reaper arriving for the spirits of her dying parents.

New Moon overlooks the coast of Prince Edward Island, and the series boasts breathtakingly beautiful, if cold, scenes of rugged cliffs and shores. The sets and costuming, while austere, are authentic and convincing. The actors and actresses shine; Cousin Jimmy and Aunt Laura in particular, win the sympathy and affection of their audience, while the young Emily Starr captures viewers' hearts with her large, expressive brown eyes, sweet but strong-willed spirit and passionate love for writing, imagination and happy endings. Despite its faults, the series with its quietly appealing characters, captivating young heroine, and enchanting ocean scenes and musical score, achieves a haunting beauty that is uniquely charming but not without faults.