Very well executed

Pretty Good

It is a performances centric movie

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

This Anne is real flesh and blood, utterly credible. So believable. I loved her interpretation of these familiar scenes, no histrionic over-acting. I couldn't give it 10 stars because I'm so very tired of Martin Sheen and wish they hadn't cast him. Of course the Megan Follows series is a classic; and I also saw Anne with an E (found her so distracting, cartoon characterish). But Elizabeth Ballentine as Anne of Green Gables was inspired re-telling.

I watched the first installment of the new Anne of Green Gables series on PBS and was very disillusioned by it. It had none of the charm of the 1985 rendition. The writers of the 1985 series offered "full" stories of each experience in Anne's life with clever and humorous dialogue and always with a keen eye for the important details that helped to flesh out the characters, all of which enhanced the rich emotional landscape of the drama. The new series tells incomplete stories, constantly jumping around and skimping on details that are vital to building depth of character, as well as contributing to the overall appeal of L.M. Montgomery's wonderful books. **SPOILER** As only one comparison, there is a wonderful early scene in the story line where Anne must apologize to Rachel Lynde for Anne's hot-headed response to Rachel's unkind comments about Anne's appearance. In the 1985 version, the apology (which is acted out in full) is extremely funny. Whereas, the modern version shows Anne at a distance with Rachel, gesticulating (with no dialogue), after which she wins Rachel over, who then gives Anne a hug. **END OF SPOILER** This scene is so empty as to leave the viewer with no emotional response whatsoever. In fact, for myself, the entire episode continued on this track leaving such a void that it did not rouse any emotional connection or amusement, which is what made the 1985 version so endearing. Even Martin Sheen, an actor I greatly admire, gave a tepid performance and could not save this poorly written and equally poorly acted version -- nowhere near the quality of acting in 1985. If they were unable to rise above this sub par presentation in 1.5 hours, I believe it is unlikely the remaining episodes will offer any real improvements. And, any attempts to stand apart from the earlier version never should have been embarked upon at the expense of quality. Perhaps the appeal, for some, lies in it's parallel to the modern social media, sound byte dynamic which has gained considerable popularity in our society. Some will say that those who are critical can't let go of their fondness for the 1985 version. But, I would argue that there are fair and well-established criteria for the critical process, regardless of the year. I do not believe this is about "when" something was made. There are many modern day films and series I consider to be quite excellent. All in all, I cannot even bear the thought of watching this version any further. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend the 1985 series for a truly rewarding viewing experience of this wonderful story.

Another reviewer was dead on the money. This felt so very rushed. Too many holes. The cast was okay. They had incredibly large shoes to fill and I think that the writers did not do them any favours. I would have liked to have been given more of this wonderful story closer to as it was written. It may have given me a bit more time to actually warm up to these actors reprising these roles.I do feel ripped off. This portion of the story alone should have been 4 hours. Hmm they want 10 lines minimum. I guess I can say that I think Sara did a decent job as Mirella. The actress that played Diana Barry was perfectly chosen. They could not have done better. That was the best casting in the whole show. Richard Farnsworth is irreplaceable but Mr Sheen stood up to the challenge and did very well indeed. I truly need to blame the writers for any disappointment that I feel here. Der IMDb. Favour is spelled correctly as I am Canadian and this is a Canadian story. So I am choosing not to change it.

SpoilersI truly love Martin Sheen's President Bartlet from West Wing. But why oh why was President Bartlet parachuted into Green Gables and into Matthew Cuthbert's coveralls? Studio executives, "Let's make Anne of Green Gables, again. We need a big star to sell it (reaches into rando bag of movie stars) and let's cast Martin Sheen."All sane people, "Um, the whole point of AoGG is the powerful dynamic between the FEMALE characters. I know men usually controlled everything, but in this story, on this little island, in this little town, it was definitely a matriarchy."Studio executives, "I can see that, well why don't we cut Marilla's best lines or even better! give them to Matthew!"I feel really sorry for the actress that played Marilla. Could you imagine auditioning for the part, finally getting it, then reading the whole script and finding you were playing a sparkless co-parent and second fiddle to of all people, Matthew?I know the writers had an impossible job to get so much in so in 90 minutes. But there were so many unforced errors! I just kept thinking, why is president Bartlet still talking? Why do we have to see him chase a pig for two minutes, but then not have enough time to follow Diana back home after she got drunk? Like Anne would have just waved her stumbling friend out the door then turned back to wash the dishes? Why was all that off screen? And Marilla didn't marry the Blythe boy because of her mother? And Matthew went a courting? There were no reasons to change that. It's like the adults were embarrassed for the Cuthbert siblings and were saying, "Yeah, they are super cool. They have a boy/girlfriend but they go to a different school, and you wouldn't know them." Why?Then they gutted Gilbert. He looked more like someone's greasy little brother that Anne would be babysitting rather than a peer, much less am eventual romantic interest (I know our boy was 18 when he was cast, but still).Positives The girl who played Anne was good, a winning smile when she chose to deploy it. Probably the only big character change that I actually like was the Let's Pretend-> Let's Find Out. She still has a big imagination, but showing her deep curiosity for the natural world (red dirt) foreshadowing her great success in not only literature, but STEM subjects.I liked that we saw them all doing chores. That's a main plot point (they need a damn boy!), but in the 1985 one all we really see is Matthew following some cows and Marila leisurely cooking her award winning things, like an upper middle class lady, not a poorish farm woman. Generally, I think everything was on the nose, overacted, over explained, "I just don't understand her." But I did like President Bartlet's quick turn about at the train station when he first saw Anne. I could easily have seen our Matthew doing that move. The drone shots of the Island were beautiful.