Customer Reviews

Jacob Have I Loved

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a story about a girl in an isolated community trying to find her identity in the shadow of her beautiful and much-loved sister. It was a good thing that I had read the book first because the movie looses much of the story, including the problems with the relationships between Sara Louise, the captain, and her sister. The movie, as usual, changes quite a few important parts of the story, making it a superficial production. My recommendation - read the book first then get the movie from the local library, don't spend money renting it.

This is the story of a young woman who lives on a secluded island (Bridget Fonda.) She has a selfish sister who she is insanely jealous of due to her beauty and stardom in the village they live in. Bridget meets an old man who was at one time "banished" from the village due to an accident that was not his fault. She learns the lessons of life, love, friendship and tradgedy through this man. A great movie for pre-teens and above

This dvd was nothing like the novel, characters were combine and the story was told out of sequence. It was purchased as a teaching tool to accompany the novel in a special needs class, I was unable to use it for this purpose.

The first time I saw this film I didn't realize that it had such a deep and yet simple point to get across to its audience. In fact I didn't understand what it was trying to say at all, but the filming local and characters were so interesting I had to watch it again. In this second viewing and beyond this beautiful story came more and more into focus and I found myself loving it. Though for other viewers it may not take as long to get the point I can say that once you do, it is a fantastic story you'll love forever! I saw this movie in my freshman year of highschool and now in college I watch it still. This is simply a great film for curling up on the couch and soothing your soul for a while...A young girl consumed with jealousy learns an important lesson from an old man who has had to come to terms with it himself years before. It isn't so hard to fall into the striking world of the island for a little less than an hour of your time...you'll see. 56 minutes.

Katherine Paterson's book Jacob Have I Loved is touching and well-written. The movie is awful -- it changes the plot and the relationships between the characters, and misses all the subtleties of the rivalry between the sisters. Spend your time reading the book and skip this execrable movie.

I never read the children's classic, but it is set in my home state, on Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay (but the movie was filmed on the mainland, near Crisfield). The biggest problem was that the film is only 50 minutes long, limiting its potential to tell a full, deep story. Instead, the movie starts story lines, then drops them after 10 minutes. Also the music is almost entirely synthesized, it's OK. The scenery is very pretty. If your kids won't read the book, then OK, put this on. But try to push the book because it will provide a fuller story of sibling rivalry with more impact. Also, look for ER's irascible Dr. Carrie Weaver (Laura Innes) in a small role as the pregnant preacher's wife.

When I finished watching this movie I was completely lost. Plots that go nowhere, cuts in and out of scenes that leave you guessing where you are, terrible synthesized music, and the list goes on. This film would be great for budding producers to watch and learn what not to do in a film. I only wish it was possible to add negative stars!

I will have to trust that this is a case where "the book is better." I would hope that the award winning book is better. This movie (I believe it was made for television) rushes at break-neck speed through plots and relationships, leaving me completely confused as to what the point is, who all these people are, and what the message is supposed to be. Evidently (if we believe the summary of the back of the DVD case) we are supposed to believe that Louise is somehow 'wrong' to be jealous of her sister, and that she learns to find her own gifts due to the helpful kindness of the sea captain she befriends. But honestly, Louise would have to have been a saint to have NOT been jealous of her sister -- a whining, spiteful, unpleasant young woman who receives the lion's share of her parents love and economic support. (SHE gets music lessons while Louise spends her spare time catching crabs to help pay the bills.) And Louise's gifts remain 100% unexplored. The ending, which is apparently supposed to tie things up, appears to have been tacked on, as the writers realized "Oops, we have 3 minutes left and we don't have an ending yet." (Reading reviews of the book, it sppears that Louise becomes a doctor or nurse, but this is not at all clear in the film.)

The DVD case is also puzzling. Laura Innes' name appears very prominently on the cover. Her role, in fact, is a VERY small one (far smaller than, say, the pretty sister whose picture graces the cover, or the sea captain or Louise's best friend). Evidently, Innes was at the height of her "ER" fame when the DVD came out -- and so she got top billing.

On the positive side -- some pretty scenery and cinematography.

I didn't read the book but from reading other reviews it sounded like it had some value to it. The basic idea of the story is good; it just doesn't come across well in the film. I would be interested in seeing how the relationship of the twins is handled in the book.

In the film, there is a confusion about who is supposed to be the "good one" and who is the "bad one." The "pretty one" is presented in a way to make us hate her--overly curly hair to the point of being ridiculous, and is shown to be vain and selfish. The one we're supposed to like (played by Fonda) is plain, boyish and sullen. Yet the supposed point of the film is that the jealousy of the sullen twin is corroding her own happiness and she has to learn to overcome this. It seems to me that the director imposed her own values on that of the book and in doing so, confused the whole film.

Frankly I'm tired of the stereotype of the pretty, blond, girl being mean and superficial while the plain one is really soulful and a much better person. The truth is that some physically beautiful people are also kind, generous and loving and some homely people are mean and cruel. There is a whole genre of literature (and films) written by the "plain sisters" who have perpetuated this myth.

There is some nice scenery and the cast is good enough. The film ended abruptly, after just an hour. There was good material in the basic story to make a touching and meaningful film. This just doesn't quite do it.

My husband and I watched this movie one evening.

This is a difficult and frustrating movie to finish~If in real life you treat everyone in your family with equal amounts of love.

You might want to pre-view this first before watching it for family night.

Although it has good lessons. The way the parents have raised their girls is kind of messed up!

We chose not to show it to our children after previewing it.