V.C. Andrews' Hidden Jewel (2021) - Film Review

Hidden Jewel finds Ruby searching for a new life for her children, desperate to protect her beloved daughter from their family's dark secrets. Raised amidst the privileged of New Orleans, Pearl (Laporte) aspires to become a doctor, but when one of her twin brothers has a serious unfortunate accident, Pearl's dreams are threatened and Ruby runs once again to the bayou; and when the other brother becomes dangerously ill, Pearl must journey to the backwaters to find her mother and uncover the mysterious secrets of her past.

All That Glitters director Michael Robison returns to directing, capturing a real gothic horror aspect to this part - this film definitely gave more horror vibes than its predecessors. Meanwhile the If There Be Thorns screenwriter Andy Cochran pens the Landry finale - he manages to capture each characters' realistic nuance while delving into the supernatural plot points. However as a whole, I questioned really the relevance of this instalment.

Jennifer Laporte returns to the V.C. Andrews universe after her award-wining performance in Web of Dreams, this time playing the daughter of the protagonist and not the mother. There was a certainty with Pearl as a character more so than Leah, maybe because her age was not as ambiguous as it was in the Casteel finale. Here Laporte gives a strong performance and quite frankly, she plays the most sensible character in the series - she has a maturity that even her parents lacked in their darkest moments.

Raechelle Banno and Ty Wood reprise their roles as Ruby and Beau, now middle-aged and happily married. Usually, VCA adaptations recast at this point when the second generation are the focus and opt for older actors - but I suspect due to COVID-19 safety procedures, it was safer to keep these actors on while filming in confined production regulations. With that in mind, Banno did an excellent job at portraying an older Ruby, who at this point has become consumed by her superstitions and guilt over her past. Her physicality and even her voice gave Ruby an entirely different stage presence, which was very effective.

I can't say the same for Wood, who lacked that presence in both his acting and character. Beau just felt really unnecessary and quite useless in the grand scheme of the plot - he's meant to be a doctor, but his teenage daughter had more common sense than he did and she's just about to begin her medical degree at university. Also acting wise, I wasn't a fan of his range as a performer - I tried to give the benefit of the doubt, but he was one of the weaker castings compared to the others. Also I hate to criticise child acting, but the two actors cast as Jean and Pierre seemed to struggle in these roles - especially with emotionally demanding scenes.

A lot of prior cast members reprised their roles for the last film, which gave some nice call-backs to the past storylines all coming to a final conflict. I was also surprised at the nice chemistry between Laporte and Evan Roderick in this film, quite possibly portraying the healthiest romantic storyline in a V.C. Andrews adaptation.

Like I said, this film definitely delved into the horror aspects of gothic compared to the others - we had curses, ghosts and rituals - and this definitely had some interesting thriller undertones. However, as a standalone story, it hardly offered any new revelations. This was more about healing from the past, especially for Ruby and Pearl has to learn there are some things that even she can't explain. This was also one of the few VCA films/books where the parents don't die a traumatising death - just one of the heroine's siblings, which still had the devastating aftermath.

With that in mind, Pearl's road trip through New Orleans and into the bayou really explores that loss of innocence. Like a protagonist in a fairy-tale, Pearl is changed by her experience in the woods - or bayou in this case - and has changed for the better.

To end the series, this gave a satisfying conclusion for fans. It admittedly was not as strong as its prequels, you would need to have knowledge of the past films or books to fully appreciate this film. However, I did like that this film subverted my expectations and gave the Landry family a happy ending - which is unique for a VCA story. With that in mind, this was a THREE-STARS for me.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the planned Tarnished Gold prequel will be able to to come out of development and we get to see Gabrielle's story come to life on screen.