When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The plot of this movie- the practice of plessage and its effects on generations of black and mixed-race families- is interesting and revealing. The problem is that the acting and directing seemed amateurish at times. Robert Ri'chard (Marcel) was cute but so over-the-top it was distracting. I don't know much about him as an actor but maybe he was just inexperienced at the time of this movie. Why was he blond, by the way? Yes, his father was white but we're not all blond. He had more pronounced African features than his light-skinned mother (Gloria Reuben) but his hair was platinum blond. ??? Did they feel they had to make him blond to prove that his father was white? His childhood love Annabella was supposedly the daughter of a freed slave and not a product of plessage, but she was just as light-skinned as the characters with a white parent. What- they couldn't find a dark-skinned actress to play the part? I find that hard to believe. The only dark-skinned actors in this movie were peripheral characters. I'm white and even I was insulted.These actors were all absolutely gorgeous, but I didn't get the sense that they were all cast for their acting ability. Jennifer Beals was great as was Gloria Reuben. The young women who played Marie, Annabella and Lissette were good, and so was the (cute) guy who played Richard. (I think it was Daniel Sunjata.) I always like James Earl Jones. The rest just weren't that great. Just like other Anne Rice movies this story could've been better told with better casting.

This movie was so badly written, directed and acted that it beggars belief. It should be remade with a better script, director and casting service. The worst problem is the acting. You have Jennifer Beals on the one hand who is polished, professional and totally believable, and on the other hand, Ri'chard, who is woefully miscast and just jarring in this particular piece. Peter Gallagher and Jenny Levine are just awful as the slave owning (and keeping) couple, although both normally do fine work. The actors (and director) should not have attempted to do accents at all--they are inconsistent and unbelievable. Much better to have concentrated on doing a good job in actual English. The casting is ludicrous. Why have children of an "African" merchant (thus less socially desirable to the gens de couleur society ) been cast with very pale skinned actors, while the supposedly socially desirable Marcel, has pronounced African features, including an obviously dyed blond "fro"? It's as if the casting directors cannot be bothered to read the script they are casting and to chose appropriate actors from a large pool of extremely talented and physically diverse actors of color. It's just so weird! This could be a great movie and should be re-made, but with people who respect the material and can choose appropriate and skilled actors. There are plenty of good actors out there, and it would be fun to see how Jennifer Beals, Daniel Sunjata and Gloria Reuben would do with an appropriate cast, good script and decent direction.

Some bitter wannabe critics will definitely try to make this movie out to be a lot worse than it is but it's not bad. I absolutely love the way the actors who played Marcel (Ri'chard), Marie (??), Jean Jacques (?? the dark Haitian man who made furniture) and Dolly Rose (Beals) bring the characters to life. They're amazing. I absolutely could not stand the role of Cecile (Marcel's mom). So indifferent and lacking in depth, it's just awful. That goes for Peter Gallagher's character as well. Don't you just love how he brings his dying behind to their home and leaves them with nothing? I also could have dealt without that rape scene, I mean I'm the most liberal of people but even I think it's too much. Other than that it was okay, lots of perpetuating social issues addressed in the film.

I am normally skeptical about watching films or mini-series based on novels because the screenplay is always different from the novel. Fortunately, I was wrong! The screenplay was very close to the novel (I guess it helps that the author was an executive producer and writer, huh?)The cast is outstanding. I can't describe how much I enjoyed seeing such a wide range of actors (from Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee to Robert Ri'chard and Bianca Lawson).The location setting... I was expecting to see the homes and cottages I imagined in my mind: what I saw on screen was slightly different. However, it wasn't enough to make me dislike the mini-series.I recommend this for anyone who has read the novel: you will not be disappointed if you have. 8 out of 10 stars!