I had no intention of watching this. My wife asked me to find something on NETFLIX and I did my best to find something that was near her tastes. As we watched this story unfold, we came to realize that this is a gem. Anne is a loquacious child who has maintained hope despite a life that would have turned most to despair and bitterness. The people she lived with beat her and abused her. She had to take care of eight children and do the housework, milk the cows, on and on A lonely older brother and sister, send to the orphanage (asylum, they call it) for a boy to help them. The brother is under his sister's thumb and when he realizes at the train station that they have sent a little girl, thin, homely, and red-headed, he knows that even though he likes her, his sister isn't going to take kindly to her. What follows is series of tests that she must endure to get the old lady to let her stay. This episode ends with a real narrative hook. What makes this work is young Amybeth McNulty who steals every scene. Her innocence and imagination fire the scenery (which is gorgeous, by the way). What she does the best, however, is to invite our emotions in. I had tears in my eyes.
Anne with an E (TV Series)
Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny (2017)
User Reviews
Review this title13 Reviews
several times I drop tears
phuketboy22 November 2018
GREAT OPENING
cheangivy30 December 2019
It'll Take 5 Minutes For You To Connect With Anne And 9 For Her To Get You To Cry..
akshatdave9 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
You ever see a description in which they note "Based off the classic [
]" and you begin to think to yourself, "By whose standard?" If only because: A) You've never heard of it and B) You've read many a classic before which was shite? Well, strangely enough, Anne is more so an exception than following the rule of using the word "Classic" as a cheap marketing ploy. For truly, this adaptation allows you to understand why the source material is considered a classic.
At 13 years old, Anne (Amybeth McNulty) has spent nearly ten years as an orphan who didn't get the privilege of childhood. Instead, she has been working, taking care of other kids, and often without a sense of friendship or family. Yet, things seem to be looking up. She is due to be adopted by Marilla (Geraldine James) and Matthew (R.H. Thomson) Cuthbert. Two people up in age, but who could still make swell parents.
Well, that is if either of them wanted a child for the sake of one, much less a girl. The truth is, Matthew needs help and while perhaps too proud to say so, Marilla just the same. For neither one are getting any younger and with them both unmarried and seemingly, family wise, only having each other 1, the cheapest option would be to adopt a boy.
Yet, what they end up with is Anne. A girl who is inquisitive, loquacious, and imaginative. Something Matthew appreciates since Marilla is very conservative, but their decisions are made together. For even if he is the man of the house, he shares said house with his sister. Which leads to problems for Anne since Marilla is hard to please. Yet, as she gets to know Anne she does try to warm up to her. However, there is this nagging desire to have her be off. Not because it is personal but because, business-wise, even if Anne is willing and able to work, they need a farm hand. Something Marilla, with her traditional Christian values, doesn't see as something appropriate for a girl to be doing.
I try to go into any new series with a sense of optimism yet, I do feel I will end up disappointed. However, there is nothing to really be disappointed about in this premiere. There is no long wait or slow burn when it comes to falling for Anne. Within 5 minutes, 5 MINUTES! McNulty's charm has you hooked and then within 4 more she has you emotionally invested. For, at first, Anne just seems like a little kid with an overactive imagination sent to the Cuthbert's because her need to express her thoughts was getting on everyone's nerves.
However, once you discover she never really had the opportunity to be a kid she slowly tears down any walls you may have built up. For, as you begin to understand her, you realize she uses books and her imagination to escape a life where she had to work to survive. She uses Jane Eyre and romantic tales to paint a future where she isn't, as she sees herself, some ugly girl due to her freckles, skinniness, and red hair. I mean, you'd have to be heartless to not feel for the child. And really, you are almost to the point you want to reach out and hug her, make her feel reassured and validated. I mean, McNulty really does get under your skin and dig her way into your heart like that.
Making it so, as we are introduced to Matthews and Marilla, despite both of those actors working since the 1970s, McNulty, who seemingly only began her career 3 years ago, not only outshines them but forces them to be reliant on her. For, strangely enough, the writing is so that even if Anne is just reacting to the people and situations she finds herself in, you never forget who is the lead and who this story is about. For, not once, does McNulty ever lose you.
This show will send you on a whirlwind of emotion. One minute you'll be tickled, possibly laughing, as Anne goes on and on about something. Yet, in the next minute, as you begin to understand why she is so happy with the Cuthberts, you will find yourself in tears. For Ms. McNulty truly knows how to manipulate and toy with your emotions. She isn't relying on her character and whatever connection you have to them, instead she has you connect with her. Thus leaving you at her whim and desiring nothing more to see joy come to her and the unfortunate lessons of life kept to a minimum.
Hence the Positive label and the recommendation. For most shows, even with an hour and a half premiere, can still leave you unsure of its direction or if you want to invest time into it. With Anne, however, McNulty, and the rest of the cast have you invested within 5 minutes and have a hold on your feelings in 9. Something I'm not sure I ever experienced before.
At 13 years old, Anne (Amybeth McNulty) has spent nearly ten years as an orphan who didn't get the privilege of childhood. Instead, she has been working, taking care of other kids, and often without a sense of friendship or family. Yet, things seem to be looking up. She is due to be adopted by Marilla (Geraldine James) and Matthew (R.H. Thomson) Cuthbert. Two people up in age, but who could still make swell parents.
Well, that is if either of them wanted a child for the sake of one, much less a girl. The truth is, Matthew needs help and while perhaps too proud to say so, Marilla just the same. For neither one are getting any younger and with them both unmarried and seemingly, family wise, only having each other 1, the cheapest option would be to adopt a boy.
Yet, what they end up with is Anne. A girl who is inquisitive, loquacious, and imaginative. Something Matthew appreciates since Marilla is very conservative, but their decisions are made together. For even if he is the man of the house, he shares said house with his sister. Which leads to problems for Anne since Marilla is hard to please. Yet, as she gets to know Anne she does try to warm up to her. However, there is this nagging desire to have her be off. Not because it is personal but because, business-wise, even if Anne is willing and able to work, they need a farm hand. Something Marilla, with her traditional Christian values, doesn't see as something appropriate for a girl to be doing.
I try to go into any new series with a sense of optimism yet, I do feel I will end up disappointed. However, there is nothing to really be disappointed about in this premiere. There is no long wait or slow burn when it comes to falling for Anne. Within 5 minutes, 5 MINUTES! McNulty's charm has you hooked and then within 4 more she has you emotionally invested. For, at first, Anne just seems like a little kid with an overactive imagination sent to the Cuthbert's because her need to express her thoughts was getting on everyone's nerves.
However, once you discover she never really had the opportunity to be a kid she slowly tears down any walls you may have built up. For, as you begin to understand her, you realize she uses books and her imagination to escape a life where she had to work to survive. She uses Jane Eyre and romantic tales to paint a future where she isn't, as she sees herself, some ugly girl due to her freckles, skinniness, and red hair. I mean, you'd have to be heartless to not feel for the child. And really, you are almost to the point you want to reach out and hug her, make her feel reassured and validated. I mean, McNulty really does get under your skin and dig her way into your heart like that.
Making it so, as we are introduced to Matthews and Marilla, despite both of those actors working since the 1970s, McNulty, who seemingly only began her career 3 years ago, not only outshines them but forces them to be reliant on her. For, strangely enough, the writing is so that even if Anne is just reacting to the people and situations she finds herself in, you never forget who is the lead and who this story is about. For, not once, does McNulty ever lose you.
This show will send you on a whirlwind of emotion. One minute you'll be tickled, possibly laughing, as Anne goes on and on about something. Yet, in the next minute, as you begin to understand why she is so happy with the Cuthberts, you will find yourself in tears. For Ms. McNulty truly knows how to manipulate and toy with your emotions. She isn't relying on her character and whatever connection you have to them, instead she has you connect with her. Thus leaving you at her whim and desiring nothing more to see joy come to her and the unfortunate lessons of life kept to a minimum.
Hence the Positive label and the recommendation. For most shows, even with an hour and a half premiere, can still leave you unsure of its direction or if you want to invest time into it. With Anne, however, McNulty, and the rest of the cast have you invested within 5 minutes and have a hold on your feelings in 9. Something I'm not sure I ever experienced before.
Annoying and cute
lpadilla-9384426 May 2020
Anne is both annoying and endearing at the same time.
Five minutes into the first episode, I wanted to put a muzzle on this girl. She looks like Pippi Longstocking, but not as cool. But I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. I gets better with each episode.
I've never read the books so I didn't know what to expect. But the writers of this show do a nice job.
Carefully crafted storylines and beautiful cinematography
kellymccrea20 December 2019
This show is a hidden gem. Each season the storylines become more compelling and more complex as the writers weave in and out of old storylines and develop each and every character in this fictional world. This show has breathtaking cinematography and a beautiful soundtrack in addition to great acting by the leads and secondary characters. While the first two episodes of season one were slower paced and sad at times, they were necessary to depict the tragic life of a young orphan girl. With the introduction of the school children and more secondary characters in episode three the pace picks up and the foundation is laid for this story. This is a wonderful coming of age tale of a young woman,Anne, played by the talented Amybeth McNulty and the impact she has on her small town.
Already hooked in the first 5 minutes
haibao8014 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I found this episode perfectly wrapped and not at all too long although it is one hour and a half.
I also think it is perfectly paced too. A wonderful premier which introduces us to Anne's exuberant character and her difficult past, and it lays the basis for her relationship with Matthew and Marilla. Anne's personality is so charming that you instantly fell in love with her fervid imagination and her perspective on things.
There is already so much character development in just one single episode. I also loved the circular narrative: the first and the last glimpse of Anne we have is her sitting on a train looking outside the window. The difference is in her mood: full of hope in the first scene, with her hopes shattered in the last.
I also think it is perfectly paced too. A wonderful premier which introduces us to Anne's exuberant character and her difficult past, and it lays the basis for her relationship with Matthew and Marilla. Anne's personality is so charming that you instantly fell in love with her fervid imagination and her perspective on things.
There is already so much character development in just one single episode. I also loved the circular narrative: the first and the last glimpse of Anne we have is her sitting on a train looking outside the window. The difference is in her mood: full of hope in the first scene, with her hopes shattered in the last.
Season 4 please!!!!!!!!
candadhanik30 October 2020
What a whirlwind of emotions
jusc-549624 May 2020
Beautiful story
lynn-5069321 February 2020
couldn't have been a better start to this show
belaidinazim-570607 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I had no intention of watching this show, at least not at this moment, because I am watching a lot of historical dramas already in the likes of downtown abbey, deadwood, gentleman jack and others. However, my sister kept saying that I should watch it and I would love it. So, I started watching it. It's not like I am a fan of binge watching anyway. And what a delightful surprise. Just 10 minutes in, I was hooked.
The emphasis of this show or at least the pilot is the character Anne, who has blown me away for a whole 90 min. Her imagination, mental struggles, hopefulness at times, despair at other times and eloquence in the choice of words makes you just want to sit there and listen to what she has to say. Despite that its usually the opposite in real life, no body want to hear someone talk forever.
The story starts by a scene where Matthew picks her up and takes her home even though he and his sister wanted a boy not a girl, but he doesn't tell her that. So, she is living this dream where she is finally adopted, but the reality crushes in when they finally arrived and we start seeing the struggles she had to live in when she was younger, she feels denied and rejected from everyone. And then after that we see a series of events that show us even more of the electricity she brings. That made Matthew and Marilla more sympathetic towards her, which convinced them to keep her, but towards the climax of the episode, Marilla lost a valuable thing, and she couldn't resist but to blame Anne. You can't blame her really, she is human.
And then we see how Anne's imagination worked against her, because instead of sticking with the truth. She imagined that she lost it in the river and said it in a way even we believed her. And then Marilla got too emotional she lost logic and sent her back to the orphanage. All that happened in an epic scene where Geraldine James acting was phenomenal.
They left us with a cliffhanger. Will it be too late to get her back? Of course not, we are still in the first episode.
Overall, great start to the show.
The emphasis of this show or at least the pilot is the character Anne, who has blown me away for a whole 90 min. Her imagination, mental struggles, hopefulness at times, despair at other times and eloquence in the choice of words makes you just want to sit there and listen to what she has to say. Despite that its usually the opposite in real life, no body want to hear someone talk forever.
The story starts by a scene where Matthew picks her up and takes her home even though he and his sister wanted a boy not a girl, but he doesn't tell her that. So, she is living this dream where she is finally adopted, but the reality crushes in when they finally arrived and we start seeing the struggles she had to live in when she was younger, she feels denied and rejected from everyone. And then after that we see a series of events that show us even more of the electricity she brings. That made Matthew and Marilla more sympathetic towards her, which convinced them to keep her, but towards the climax of the episode, Marilla lost a valuable thing, and she couldn't resist but to blame Anne. You can't blame her really, she is human.
And then we see how Anne's imagination worked against her, because instead of sticking with the truth. She imagined that she lost it in the river and said it in a way even we believed her. And then Marilla got too emotional she lost logic and sent her back to the orphanage. All that happened in an epic scene where Geraldine James acting was phenomenal.
They left us with a cliffhanger. Will it be too late to get her back? Of course not, we are still in the first episode.
Overall, great start to the show.
Beautiful yet triggering...
Filmnerd9731 December 2019
Beautiful yet triggering for those who have experienced Emotional or Physical bullying.
I was weeping near panic attack at the end of the first episode, having learned about Anne's life in such a short span of time. I love how you connect with the story, as it resonates with your personal experiences, young or old.
I was weeping near panic attack at the end of the first episode, having learned about Anne's life in such a short span of time. I love how you connect with the story, as it resonates with your personal experiences, young or old.
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