The screen writer took great liberties with the original work by Hawthorne. Relationships are changed to allow a love interest. Hepzibah Pyncheon becomes the cousin of Clifford Pyncheon, rather than his sister, to allow the romance to weave itself throughout the film. Also the character of Clifford is altered to make him heroic, something he is not in the book. Added are a trial, which was never in the book. Great emphasis is place on the dedication of Matthew Maule to the cause of abolition. Hawthorne never stressed this. The greatest shortcoming is the lack of emphasis on the house itself. It plays a major role in the novel but in the film it is just another building in which the action takes place. Overall it is not a bad film but if one is trying to capture the essence of what Hawthorne was writing, the film misses the major points.
Review of The House of the Seven Gables
