I was really excited when I saw the commercial a few weeks back for the made for TV film “The Red Tent” to be aired on Lifetime. I know, how good can a made for TV movie really be (especially a Lifetime one), you may ask? Well, it was an awesome two-night, four total hour production! I have watched a few of them in my day, and this one is the first (I believe) that is a book I’ve read that has been made into a film.

I’ve written a past post about the novel by Diamant entitled the same as the film, The Rend Tent, and if I remember correctly, I enjoyed the story, it was a bit tedious at times, but overall an enjoyable read. Since I have posted another post concerning the plot, please find that here: https://quizzicalchemist.com/2014/10/24/the-red-tent-by-anita-diamant/. Now, not many times will I say this (LOTR is the only other time I have said this) but I think this film is actually better than the book. The plot stays extremely close to the novel, which is great for those doing an exact comparison, but everything else that an author may not have time to develop visually really was captured in this film. According to IMDB, they filmed this picture in Morocco, which definitely gave the feeling of a desert resembling Egypt and the Middle East. Moreover, the sets were fabulous. They really looked like the literal red tent and Thebes looked like something we would imagine the city were to look like.

For how much the sets gave a realistic appeal to the work, the actors were superb. Rebecca Ferguson played Dinah and she was just amazing. You could feel nothing but sadness for all of the adversity that she had to face over the course of her lifetime. The four wives of Jacob were also scene stealers throughout the film’s entirety, playing pivotal supporting roles that shaped the plot and explained how Dinah’s character developed. Also, the actor who played Jacob, Iain Glen, who was in the Resident Evil films and that’s how I recognized him, was perfectly cast. When I read the book, I pictured Jacob to be a little younger than Glen, but regardless, he gave emotion to the role that I think many actors would not have. My last comment may be taken as an odd one but something I did notice: both of Dinah’s husbands were hot. And I don’t mean like “aw cute,” no no, they were hunks. If you need a reason to watch the film for anything, watch it for shirtless scenes of them. 😀

This is going to be a fairly short post, but I think if you have read Diamant’s novel and enjoyed it and/or know of the Biblical plot of Dinah this would be a well-worth while. The film was a bit long, but in 4 hours with commercials, read a book or do a hobby while the commercials play. You won’t regret watching!