Death comes to Pemberley (TV Series)

(Amazon UK link)

I had not heard of ‘Death Comes to Pemberley’, but my son and his wife watched the mini series and read the book, and loved them so much that they gave the DVDs (and the book) to me for Christmas. We decided to watch the DVDs over three weeks - it’s three hour-long episodes - and while I was a tad dubious at first at the thought of a sequel to ‘Pride and Prejudice’, we both enjoyed it very much.

The series was made by the BBC who always seem to be good with period dramas. As such, the settings and costumes seemed entirely authentic. The dialogue wasn’t really that of Austen - the book on which this is based was written by PD James - but it didn’t much matter. And while the storyline is rather far removed from ‘Pride and Prejudice’, or anything else Jane Austen wrote, it has a ring of authenticity.

The story begins with Darcy and Lizzie, now married for ten years or so, planning a huge ball. The domestic staff are very busy and Lizzie clearly on good terms with them, as well as being an efficient manager. However my only real problem with the films is that Lizzie - Anna Maxwell Martin - seemed too old. I gather the actress is around the same age as Matthew Rhys who played Darcy, while she should have been rather younger, but her manner and assurance didn’t feel like those of Elizabeth Bennet; yet her clothes were dreary; it looked as though she either never changed, or had several identical plain dresses.

However it’s a minor complaint, and I soon got used to this very different portrayal of a main character. Her younger sister Lydia, I thought, was brilliantly cast (Jenna Coleman) and has exactly the right amount of frivolousness and self-centredness. She is possibly the best Lydia I have seen. The Bennet parents are believable too, and the local magistrate (Trevor Eve) is excellent in his role. Best of all, in my view, is a cameo appearance of the supercilious Lady Catherine, who was perfectly portrayed by Penelope Keith.

Back to the gist of the story: Lydia’s husband Wickham (Matthew Goode) is determined to take his wife to the ball even though they are pointedly not invited. Events in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ made it impossible for the Bennets to receive Wickham although Lizzie tries to remain in contact with her sister. They’re driving through the estate when Wickham’s friend Denny suddenly rushes out of the coach. This leads to the tragedy which has been foreseen in the earlier scenes, and which was expected, given the title.

Wickham is suspected of violence, and most of the rest of the story involves the investigations, although there are other side stories which turn out to be more significant than I realised at first.

I found the ending quite tense, and the conclusion perhaps a tad too neat and tidy, but it all works well even if ardent Jane Austen fans disapprove of it.

The rating is 12, possibly due to the violence, or the implications of immorality;  or possibly due to a fairly tame scene of intimacy towards the end of the book. Sadly there are no ‘extras’.

Definitely recommended.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's DVD Reviews

Becoming Jane (Anne Hathaway)

(Amazon UK link)

From time to time I check my recommendations on Amazon UK, and read reviews of the ones that look interesting. ‘Becoming Jane’ was one of these recommendations, probably based on the fact that I have enjoyed several of the Jane Austen film adaptations. Or possibly because I have liked other films featuring Anne Hathaway.

So, as the reviews were mostly positive, I added the film to my wish list and was given it for my birthday last year. We finally decided to watch it last night, aware that it was a fictionalised story of part of Jane Austen’s life. I knew very little about her life, other than that her father was a minister, and that she didn’t marry. So I didn’t have any preconceived ideas about the film.

The opening sequence was very well done, I thought. Jane is played by Anne Hathaway, with such a flawless British accent that I entirely forgot she was American until we watched one of the extras afterwards. We see her writing - with a quill pen, ideas flowing - and then she decides to play the piano. It’s early in the morning and not only wakes the household but startles one of the household staff significantly.

Jane’s sister Cassandra (Anna Maxwell Martin) is engaged, to a young man who is about to go off to sea. Jane’s mother (Julie Walters) really wants Jane to find someone suitable too. Jane has two admirers: one who is well off, respectable and well-connected, but she does not care for him. The other is dependent on his uncle, and rather wild. Their first meetings are full of conflict, but they quickly fall in love.

I thought the film was very well done, although at first I had a hard time remembering who was whom. Anne Hathaway makes a believable young Jane - aged about twenty - with a great imagination and far more independence and spirit than was normal for girls of her era. James McAvoy is excellent, too, as the young - but not very responsible - lawyer Tom Lefroy, and the chemistry between the two is excellent.

Maggie Smith has a small role as Lady Gresham, aunt to the other young man who aspires to Jane’s hand. And, as we have come to expect with Maggie Smith, she has some wonderful lines; her timing is impeccable.

Indeed, all the characters are believable and mostly distinct in character, and we were quickly drawn into the story. While it’s only loosely based on what’s known about Jane Austen’s life, it feels authentic, and entirely possible. It becomes clear that Jane has already written the book that would eventually be published as ‘Sense and Sensibility’, basing her two main characters on herself and her sister Cassandra. During the course of the film, she starts to write some of the material for what will become Pride and Prejudice. It's based partly on her experiences and also the people she interacts with.

The only parts of the film I disliked are a few scenes at boxing matches. They weren’t too gory, but anything of that nature makes me close my eyes and hope it passes quickly. I was a little surprised to find that the rating of the film is only PG. While there’s no bad language other than one or two mild words, and the only nudity is a few seconds of rear views of young men about to swim, the violent scenes are quite intense, and there is more than one overt hint of marital intimacies.

However, overall we thought it an extremely well-made film.

There are some extras which we watched afterwards related to the making of the film. Although they added a bit of background, and I always find this kind of thing interesting, they weren’t anything special.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews

Philomena (Judi Dench)

(Amazon UK link)

I am pretty sure that Amazon recommended the film ‘Philomena’ to me because I have liked so many films starring or featuring Dame Judi Dench. I was given the DVD for my birthday a few months ago, and last night we decided to watch it.

The advantage of waiting some months before watching new DVDs is that I had entirely forgotten the blurb and reviews which I had read beforehand. I had even forgotten that the movie was based on a real life story, although as it progressed I realised that it almost certainly was. There was realistic film footage that was evidently of a real person.

The main character, Philomena, is brilliantly portrayed by Judi Dench. The actress must have been almost eighty when this was made, but we had no difficulty believing her to be the 68-year-old Irish Philomena, whom we first meet when she lights a candle in the church. Her adult daughter sees her crying, and Philomena shows her a photograph of a small boy, whom, she says, would have been fifty.

Philomena’s daughter had no idea that she had an elder half-brother, Anthony, who was adopted when he was three. She accepts this revelation in a way that seems rather too easy, and asks a former journalist, Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) if he would consider helping her mother find her son. Martin isn’t keen at first but he’s lost his former job, so eventually agrees.

Most of the film follows Philomena and Martin as they travel, first around Ireland and then further afield in the hope of finding some clues to Anthony’s whereabouts. This is interspersed with scenes from Philomena’s life as a teenager, played believably by Sophie Kennedy Clark. We see the young man she met and kissed, without any idea where this might lead. We see, too, the strict convent where she was sent by her family, who disowned her when she was obviously pregnant. There are scenes following the birth, which was traumatic in the extreme, and her years working in the laundry at the convent, seeing her son for only an hour each day. We also, eventually, learn of what happened when Anthony was adopted, and why she didn’t see him again.

Although billed as a comedy, it’s a bittersweet story of discovery, and also of the growing friendship between the unlikely pairing of a hard-nosed political journalist and an elderly woman who sometimes seems naive, yet has seen (and experienced) a lot of suffering. The on-screen chemistry between the two is excellent, with Philomena becoming more confident, and Martin realising that people matter more than stories.

To say much more about the story would be to give spoilers. We were caught up in the film almost from the start, finding it sad yet with some superb one-liners and comic moments to lighten the serious nature of the film. It was very powerful, demonstrating the cruelty that apparently wasn’t uncommon towards unmarried mothers in the 1960s, and also the power of forgiveness.

There’s one ‘extra’ on the DVD, explaining how the real Martin Sixsmith came to meet the real Philomena. Both of them were on the set and somewhat involved in the making of the film, although a book was written first to bring this kind of situation to the public eye. We found the extra, with commentary from most of the main characters and the director, as well as the ‘real’ people, to be almost as moving as the film itself.

The rating is 12, which I would say is about right. There are a few instances of ‘strong’ language, and some traumatic scenes, including that of childbirth; yet there’s no nudity or violence, and nothing explicit.

Very highly recommended.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews