Ethan Frome

1993
PG
1h 39m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Patricia Arquette and Liam Neeson in Ethan Frome (1993)

A new pastor arrives in a stark Vermont village and is intrigued by crippled, misshapen Ethan Frome living on an isolated, hardscrabble farm with his sickly wife Zeena.A new pastor arrives in a stark Vermont village and is intrigued by crippled, misshapen Ethan Frome living on an isolated, hardscrabble farm with his sickly wife Zeena.A new pastor arrives in a stark Vermont village and is intrigued by crippled, misshapen Ethan Frome living on an isolated, hardscrabble farm with his sickly wife Zeena.

Director
- John Madden
Writers
- Richard Nelson
- Edith Wharton
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

2.3K

YOUR RATING

Director
- John Madden
Writers
- Richard Nelson
- Edith Wharton
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos17

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
In the original Edith Wharton novel, the stranger in town who takes an interest in Ethan is not a new pastor, but a businessman or woman (the gender isn't specified) temporarily staying in the area.

Goofs
In a winter scene early in the film, a Red-eyed Vireo can be heard singing in the dead of winter in Massachusetts. These birds winter in Amazonia, and arrive in Massachusetts in late spring.

Quotes
Mattie Silver: If I miss my train, where will I go?
Ethan Frome: Where will you go if you catch it?

Connections
Featured in Screen Two: Ethan Frome (1994)

Soundtracks
Turkey in the Straw
(uncredited)
American folk tune
[Played at square dance]

User reviews21

Featured review

8/10

Engaging little piece of drama.

This is one of the more enjoyable novels I have read in high school and I think this film adaptation fits the book very well. It is about the life of husband Ethan Frome (Liam Leeson) and his disabled wife, Zeena Frome (Joan Allen). They hire a young woman, Mattie Silver (Patricia Arquette), to help tend to household needs and, as time passes, she and Ethan fall in love.

I've found this movie to be quite enjoyable and engaging, as its drama and plot are enthralling and beautifully depicted. The plot does flow well as the movie is faithfully executed in accordance with the novel and the acting is quite astounding for the most part. The characters especially the three leads are sympathetic and phenomenal - you feel the suffering Zeena's illness is causing her and the complexity surrounding the forbidden love of Ethan and Mattie. The simplicity of the Victorian town the movie is set in and the snowy weather give the story a solemn atmosphere.

If you have read the novel before watching this film, you will still feel intrigued by the plot and find the course of the events suspenseful, wondering how everything will play out at the end. It's a good piece of movie drama that is a must-see.

Grade B+