Anne with an E (2017-2019)

Blog rating: 8.80 out of 10

I must admit that I have not read the novel on which this series is based (Anne of Green Gables written by Lucy Maud Montgomery and published in 1908), but it is a very well constructed work with beautiful characters and moving stories of hope and people of good soul.

Each chapter is good for the heart because they are simple stories like its protagonist, an orphan girl with red hair, freckles and a very long tongue. Anne is hyperactive and full of imagination, and comes to change the monotonous life of two brothers, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, due to a simple mistake.

Amybeth McNulty as Anne

In the first chapter Matthew Cuthbert goes to the train station to look for a boy to help at his Green Gables farm on the outskirts of the city of Avonlea, but instead he finds the young red-haired girl who starts talking to him in a well educated way but almost without taking a break, about how happy and excited she is about to become part of his family. 

This misunderstanding lasts most of the episode, and perhaps at the beginning it is difficult to get used to her rhythm and use of words, but during the course of the series you will become fond of her because of how well constructed her character is. And not only Anne, but the others around her.

R.H.Thomson as Matthew

The dimension of the protagonist Anne of 13 years, who asks to be called with an “E” to sound more distinguished, is considerably wide and actress Amybeth McNulty (who is actually 15 years old) conquers perfectly with her character, playing an Anne who, besides being talkative, nervous, funny, impulsive and happy, hides her dark side. Excessive imagination will lead her to imagine splendid, as well as spooky things. In the series we see how the girl silences the traumas she acquired when she worked in other houses previously helping with chores, and we will discover them and suffer them along with her.

As we mentioned, the first one is Matthew Cuthbert, an affable, gentle and quiet man. Marilla is the name of the sister, the most hostile, coarse and apathetic of the two, becoming the perfect villain for Anne at the beginning of her stay at this farm. Here we will see how she will transform her personality thanks to the experience of living with her new daughter, a simply masterful performance.

Geraldine James as Marilla

Then Marilla's neighbor and friend, named Rachel Lynde, appears. She welcomes Anne to the hard life of people who don't think about the other. There will also be the unconscious judgment of the small classmates of the school, or their mothers, or the bestiality of the young boys. But we will also have the best friend, Diana Barry (Odd Squad), and the only classic companion who understands her and she falls in love, Gilbert Blythe, played by Lucas Jade Zumann.

As we will see, Anne is the key piece that assembles everything, and at the same time transforms these characters, which help to highlight each dilemma and important theme that appears in each chapter. The series discusses many universal themes, such as forbidden love, death, lies or using imagination to defend oneself from the traumas lived, the difficult adaptation to new places, fatherhood / motherhood and traditional loves. However, Anne with all her wonderful imagination, innocence, intelligence and transparency, gives a different, new, fun and modern look to all this, fighting against the outdated vision of the other characters of advanced age.

The look of other female characters will also appear, from an independent old woman who never married, to a group of feminist mothers, who want their daughters to have a future studying and not waiting to serve or marry a man.

In summary, this Canadian series adapted by the winner of 3 Emmys awards for Breaking Bad, Moira Walley-Beckett, is a magnificent work that masterfully illustrates the reality of the time and that through its simple stories conveys a feeling of hope in these times of excessive reality.

Title: Anne With an E

Direction: Niki Caro, David Evans, Amanda Tapping

Screenplay: Moira Walley-Beckett (Novel: Lucy Maud Montgomery)

Cast: Amybeth McNulty, Geraldine James, R.H. Thomson, Dalila Bela, Lucas Jade Zumann, Aymeric Jett Montaz, Helen Johns, Christian Martyn, Kyla Matthews, Corrine Koslo, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Ella Jonas Farlinger, Stephen Tracey, Kyle Meagher, Janet Porter, Helene Robbie, Tyler Barish.