V.C. Andrews' All That Glitters (2021) - Film Review

Never thought I'd say this, but this is the first time watching a V.C. Andrews adaptation I was rooting for the antagonist. With this my final Landry Saga review - yes, I watched these films slightly out of order - my sympathy for Ruby dried up completely in this one.

All That Glitters picks up as Ruby is driven from the Dumas mansion and returns to her beloved childhood home in the bayou where she's intent on creating a new life for her baby daughter, Pearl. Ruby's high-school sweetheart Paul is there to support her again, and when he moves her into his impressive home, she has new hope for the future. However, Ruby can't escape the judging eyes of Paul's mother Gladys (Alfonso) who knows Ruby and Paul's dark secret, and Giselle continues to torment Ruby when she reveals news about Beau (Wood), Pearl's real father and Ruby's true love. Ruby longs for another life, and the web of deceit continues when Giselle falls into a coma and Ruby is lured into a twisted plot to be with Beau.

Director Michael Robison's first venture into VCA was beautifully done, with Pearl in the Mist director David Bercovici-Artieda serving as cinematographer - this film series has been the most consistently visually stunning in each film. Also with the most V.C. Andrews scripts under her belt, Scarlett Lacey is back to write this screenplay - and honestly, this is one of my favourite of hers. Aside from the rushed ending, there were some nice character moments in here.

The Banno sisters reprise their roles in probably one of the craziest Landry films yet - the camp and melodrama was on another level. Karina fully embraces the villainous side of Gisselle who has become totally arrogant in her new status of wealth and gloats her new marital status. Meanwhile Raechelle's Ruby has found genuine happiness in her newfound motherhood - Ruby in relationships is an entire mess, making her go to some dark and quite unforgivable places. Other standout performances definitely were Kristian Alfonso and Sam Duke, who gave humanity to their flawed characters. Ty Woods unfortunately paled in comparison to some of his co-stars, which became more apparent with his bigger role in this movie.

Now Ruby's love life is messy - and I watched/read Petals on the Wind where Cathy was pursued by her brother, adopted father (in the book), stepfather and abusive boyfriend - yet Ruby in this instalment is just selfish, which I found her exasperation in comparison to vengeful Cathy. After a traumatic encounter with the man who tried to child-bride and assault her, Ruby fights Buster off and flies with her new born baby into Paul's arms. Remember Paul? The half-brother who asked her to marry him every five minutes, despite knowing they're related? Well, Ruby caves and they get married - going as far as pretending Beau's baby is Paul's, but Paul promises they will sleep in separate rooms and they can have an open marriage if they find potential lovers.

What ensues is a lot of lingering stares and "will they/won't they" interactions, with plenty of shade from Gisselle and a blunt talk from Paul's mother Gladys - who actually calls out the insanity of their marriage and the fact this family has to live with more lies. So how d0 Ruby and Paul handle their taboo feelings they're fighting to resist? WW1 roleplay, of course! Under the illusion of pretend, these two give into their forbidden passion - which they both choose to not speak of the morning after, actually having the nerve to pretend it was a dream.

Despite the obvious flaws in their marriage and, you know the fact they're half-siblings - Paul and Ruby build a pretty happy life together. This all shatters around them when Gisselle reveals Beau returned from Europe and she marries him to spite her sister.

And here is where nefarious Beau Andreas returns into the picture. He gives the weakest apology on the planet and that wins Ruby over and the pair soon begin an affair in their own little hideaway in New Orleans - Beau definitely had this planned, no one buys an apartment their spouse knows nothing of unless they have these type of ideas. He even gives the "I only married your sister for the illusion it was you" line and that causes Ruby to swoon and not be offended? Okay, you do you. While the pair continue their dalliance, despite worrying about Paul's fragile mental health and Gisselle's jealousy - they debate whether the fallout would be worth it to be together.

Now, normal people would divorce their respective spouses and be together officially. Not in this case - Beau waits till Gisselle is is bitten by a deadly mosquito and convinces Ruby to swap places with her comatose sister, pretending to be Gisselle while taking Pearl to live with Beau. Oh meanwhile, Paul looks after Gisselle who everyone believes is Ruby. While Ruby and Beau thrive in their newfound lifestyle, Gisselle's health drastically worsens and Paul's depression kicks in so bad, he can't tell which sister is which anymore. Does this cause Ruby or Beau to come to their senses and do this the honourable way? Nope! Ruby starts to become very Gisselle-like, losing her morals on the way.

Even though Paul agrees to this ludicrous plan, so he is just at fault - ironically the only innocent party is Gisselle and she's in a coma. Tragically, Ruby's siblings meet their tragic ends and with the entire of New Orleans believing Ruby has passed away, Real Ruby is overcome with guilt. Not enough guilt to end the ruse, but there was genuine remorse there. Which reminds me, WHEN were they going to end the twin-swap roleplay? Aside from a few snide comments, Beau and Ruby seemed pretty content to keep the pretence going indefinitely.

So with Pearl legally declared as Paul's, Gladys is on a full-revenge trip to make Ruby suffer and although I agreed that the trick Beau and Ruby pulled was despicable, Gladys was clearly more on the vindictive power control rather than thinking of the child's welfare, I lost some empathy for her there. I really reached the end of my tether when lawyers and social workers turned up to take Pearl and Ruby says nothing - which leads to a heart-breaking scene where a crying Pearl is ripped from her mother's arms. This was the moment where I was in disbelief that this situation had escalated to this point and the lies have become too twisted to talk themselves out of - it was a lot, even for V.C. Andrews.

Thankfully, Ruby begins to redeem herself by growing a backbone and vows to get Pearl back and shoots Beau down on his suggestions of revealing the truth cautiously - even though this crazy twin-swap was his idea. However, their Sister Trap switch worked a little too well - Ruby and Gisselle don't have birth certificates due to their bayou home births, DNA testing wasn't a thing in the 1960s (it actually started in 1980s), there were no living or present witnesses to validate their story and it is just plain ludicrous to believe anyway. Basically, their lawyer tells them it's not looking good for this couple.

They try and appeal to Gladys' better nature as a mother - who knew from Paul's funeral who the real Dumas twin was - her grief and hatred and the fact she blames them who Paul's death, she's hardly in a forgiving mood. Although she does deliver the best line in the film "You put on your sister's face and crawled into her skin, now wear it."

So naturally, the following court proceedings are leaning in Gladys' favour as the grief-stricken paternal grandmother and the fact most of New Orleans believe Ruby is Gisselle pulling a cruel trick, the truth is not exactly falling on sympathetic ears. Here is where I at least wanted to see Ruby find her voice instead of sitting there stammering - just own your mistakes, admit your wrongdoings or basically throw your hands up in the air to your actions. The truth comes out from an unlikely source and the Andreas family are reunited, but surely they would be in more trouble? Especially since Ruby had admitted to incest and both she and Beau committed identity theft and fraud. But nope, all is well that ends well, for these two at least.

Alas, the film ends with the Andreas clan living happily in New Orleans and Ruby now pregnant with twins - with some voodoo foreshadowing. I just couldn't get behind this ending for two people who had committed some horrendous acts and barely acknowledged the depths of the damage they had caused. Despite how infuriating I had found many plot points, the rushed ending and confusing character arcs - I can't deny this was a well-made production with a good cast. For those positives, I decided to go with a THREE-STAR rating for this film.

There was a lot going on in this film and it did start to feel rushed, especially towards the end. Maybe the book has a better narrative flow and pacing, but it was a stretch to fit this much in a 90-minute adaptation.