V.C. Andrews' Web of Dreams - Film Review

The finale of the Casteel Family sees the past and present blur together when Annie returns to Farthy and after being gifted the diary of her maternal grandmother, the secrets which lead to the events and horrors of the Casteels are revealed.

Mike Rohl returns to directing a V.C. Andrews adaptation with a screenplay by Andy B. Rost. Rohl definitely captures another gothic style to his directing with an impressively written script from Rost. This was definitely the strongest Casteel adaptation in terms of direction and writing. Although I still found the housed used for this house did not fit the description of the novel, the cinematography and narrative flow of the script made this the most enjoyable watch. Another solid aspect of this film was it really committed to both time periods of Leah and Annie - the 50s set design and fashion really brought the world-building to life.

Jennifer Laporte as Leigh was a superb casting as the lead - Laporte captured the innocence and tragic loss of that innocence due to tragedy and disturbing abuse, but despite all she finds a strength and that was excellently portrayed on screen. Her presence was very natural and I am very much looking forward to seeing how she portrays Pearl in Landry's Hidden Jewel this spring.

Other roles that shone through were Max Lloyd-Jones and Cindy Busby as the formidable and twisted Tony and Jillian in their younger years. Lloyd-Jones captured the manipulative and calculating characteristics of his role perfectly, his scenes were uncomfortable to view and yet very effective. Meanwhile, Busby embodies the unpredictable and vain nature of Jillian that actually comes across sinister really well. She reminded me of her book counterpart from Dark Angel, before she declined into madness and denial - the moments where her character flipped between her version of affectionate to emotionally abusive and back again were some of the best parts from Bushy.

Annie and Luke return to Farthy one final time for Annie’s father’s funeral, but she is still haunted by her brief stay as a teenager. The transition from Annie’s timeline to Leah’s was nicely done and complimented both narratives. It was a rather fitting conclusion to Annie’s story. However, looking back - I would have liked to see an incarnation of Heaven brought back in this film. It was fitting that Leah's last word was Heaven (thus setting up her daughter's naming), but as this was the final film, it would have been great to see Annalise Basso or Johannah Newmarch reprising the role in a flashback - bringing all three generations of women together.

This was definitely the strongest casting all round, but if I were to criticise one - I’d say I wasn’t keen on Tim Donadt as Young Luke Casteel, his sweet boy-next-door charm didn’t work well and I would’ve thought an actor who can play a bit rough around the edges with charm and vulnerability would’ve been better - for example, a young Milo Ventimiglia would’ve been perfect. However, both Donadt and Laporte had good on screen chemistry - I just would’ve liked Luke to be portrayed a bit more diamond in the rough light.

This was definitely a personal favourite and overall, the series got stronger as each film progressed and the creatives found their feet with this adaptation in particular. A very good ending to the Casteel series and an overall satisfying conclusion.

This year, I'm pleased to say I will be reviewing the Landry series this March - so keep an eye out for future V.C. Andrews reviews this year.