Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I was captivated by the bits of this I've gotten to see (it comes on just before I am leaving for work) and then I was completely taken by the episodes I got to see the few days I was out sick or on vacation.I confess I was at first interested in the books in order to see how these themes had been covered (the laudanum, kidnapping, etc) and as I suspected they were add-ons, and probably necessary to hold the audience. But the books are absolutely delightful, and the writing about nature is absolutely magnificent.So: Watch the series, then read the book. (All ages--I am well beyond the original target audience age, I think).

After having enjoyed Kevin Sullivan's foray into the works of L.M. Montgomery, I was interested to see what Salter Street Films would do. The Emily series is the darker, more realistic vision of life Rural Prince Edward Island and much closer to the life Montgomery herself lead. While the series captures that darker element, there are moments of light and color that make the series charming and delightful. The performance of the regular actors in the series were all very well done. Stephen McHattie, who plays Cousin Joe, was especially a standout for me because I'm used to seeing him play heavies and bad guys. The actress playing the lead character is certainly well cast. She is almost a little too intense.It would be interesting if the producers did an update movie with the same cast based on the last book in the Emily series. It would be a great closer for a series that didn't last too long.

Unlike most of the other reviewers, I'd never even heard of Emily of New Moon before I stumbled on the TV series. I was amazed and astounded--didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Dead mother; heinous school teacher; father loses job after confronting heinous teacher; father falls off roof and dies trying to catch kitten so it can be taken to new home. Holy crap. And all that happened in the first two episodes. Then on we go to more pain and horror. I've never seen a kid's show with so many thoroughly mean characters, both of the adult and child variety--people totally lacking in compassion. So we have ghosts (I failed to mention them from the first two episodes but they were there), attempted cat murder, a child who is treated in a way that could only be considered abusive (forbidden to read and write except for school work), and then we get into jilted lovers and illegitimate kids and 19th century drug addiction. And yet, it's somehow compelling. Maybe just because you can't believe that so many bad things will continue to occur and you keep hoping for some kind of redemption. I'm only in the middle of the 2nd season, so perhaps redemption is just around the corner, or another 17 episodes away.

As a longtime fan of Emily of New Moon (much better than that Anne girl!) I was looking forward to this series when it first aired. I wasn't disappointed by the first season because they stuck quite well to the book and the characters were all believable and well-done. But the rot began to set in after Aunt Elizabeth died at the beginning of the second series. The screenwriters basically rewrote the whole story and it wasn't good. There were some good episodes, but some of the stories must have come out of a not-very-good-magician's hat. In the end I gave up on it. It would have been a lot better if the screenwriters had either gone on with the rest of the series, using the books, or just left it at the end of the first season. I must say, though, the kids playing the parts were good.