North and South
[BBC, 2004]
Starring:
Richard Armitage
Daniela Denby-Ashe
Sinead Cusack
Others That Were Lovely Too
entertainment rating: ★★★★★
~
performance: ★★★★★
screenplay: ★★★★
plot/storyline: ★★★★
cinematography: ★★★★
~
BBC Drama
******SPOILER ALERT******
(There are spoilers in this review! After the three paragraphs, spoilers will pop up! It's a kind of predictable story, so you probably shouldn't worry about it, but, just so you know...)
I'm back! And better than ever! With a terrifically long post! It's been a long time since I posted a review, but then again, it's been a long time since I've watched anything worth noting. After we finished the Eliott series, we were unsure of what to do next - the libraries seemed out of things to reserve, there was nothing we wanted to rent... There were a few things we did watch: there was the shallow but cute Nim's Island; Get Smart, which "missed it by that much;" the kind of depressing Evening; and the delightfully colorful Pushing Daisies; the hilarious and charming Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day. And, of course, let's not forget Star Trek, the Next Generation, Season One.
And after all of this modern or futuristic film (c'mon, you know Star Trek is futuristic! Do you have a holodeck?), we were starting to hurt from 17th Century England withdraw. "Ouch!" we said, as Riker gets out his phaser and blasts a alien enemy. "Nooo," we say, "he's not attractive unless you put him in a tailcoat and cravat! Or even better, no cravat!" Tell-tale signs of BBC withdraw. And so you can imagine how excited we were to find that we could replace Star Trek (though it has its time and place) for a gorgeous and relatively new BBC drama. And not only was it just any drama, but it was adapted from an Elizabeth Gaskell book. Gaskell wrote Cranford, as well, which was adapted by BBC last year. A very good series.
Here is the brief version of my review, which contains NO spoilers. :)
North and South at first seems to be very much like other period dramas. The story told through the eyes of Margaret Hale (Denby-Ashe) and John Thornton (Armitage). Margaret is a strong young woman who, until the start of the story, lived in the comfortable, green South. (I capitalize the compass points for drama!) Her father uproots Margaret and her mother to move to the cold and dirty North, to a town called Milton, where the cotton industry and poverty rule the streets. John Thornton is the master of a prominent cotton mill - formidable, intelligent, to-drool-over without his cravat on... Moving on. The story revolves around how Margaret conforms to the ways of the North, how she adapts and learns to understand the people who live there - including the apparently unscrupulous Mr. Thornton.
We loved it. It is becoming our next Jane Eyre.
That is my brief version. :) I don't blame you if you chose to read the itsy-bitsy version and leave the rest and go about your daily life. But you see, I have *so* many thoughts on the movie that I simply had to continue writing about it, so my more in depth and spoiler-filled thoughts are as follows...
North and South seems, at first, to be like other period dramas. It is a perfect mix of a Jane Austen-like story, in the world of a Charles Dickens tale. Who could ask for more?!
Upon settling in Milton, Margaret's first acquaintances are the Thorntons, who own the most prominent cotton mill in Milton, Marborough Mill. And here is where you meet the leading man - Mr. John Thornton, Master of Marborough Mill. I loved how he was introduced: First viewed by Margaret, standing over his workrooms, and then, in a flying rage, beating a worker for smoking on the job. You immediately dislike him (despite his dreamy British qualities) - and so does Margaret. It fits! Finally, the prejudiced young woman *and* the audience doesn't like him much! I mean, who really didn't like Mr. Darcy, despite his incivility? Incivility doesn't affect an audience, nay, the more incivility the better, but to beat a helpless worker? To shout at her, telling her to get lost?
The characters in this story are very 3-dimensional. Mr. Thornton starts out seeming harsh, and slowly, through all four hours of the show, you see his depths. He isn't so bad, not at all. He is a self-made man, a sensible, clever man, who, despite his hard outward appearance necessary for his trade, is sensitive as well. His mother, Mrs. Hannah Thornton (Cusack), developed very much like her son - you begin by thinking she is an annoying, uppity, harsh woman, but as time goes on you see that she loves her son to death and her pride for him is explained. Some of the best scenes in the entire movie are between John and his mother. John's father died when he was young, so John and his mother have a close relationship - while his sister Fanny, who gave an absolutely hilarious performance - is just tolerated.
Margaret and her family are interesting, as well, though her parents aren't the most lively of people. Her mother is ill and her father is slightly simple, but neither are stupid. Margaret acts as the head of the family, independent and confident, though conforming to the ways of the North was a hard process. She befriends the workers, and as time goes on, she becomes familiar with the North, calls it her home as warmly as she before called the South so.
Margaret and John's relationship is hilter-kilter throughout. They begin on very bad terms, what with Margaret's deep loathing of him. They end up arguing at every meeting and generally make a mess of every conversation. However, Margaret is different than a stereotypical prejudiced young lady. She learns, she doesn't hold onto her grudges. Her opinions change, and though she once thought John was a harsh, horrible man, she adapts as she finds the reasoning to his methods.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable performance. The actors were great - Richard Armitage, whom we had never seen in anything before this, was really good (and so pale, my heavens.) His character had equal portions of acting with intensity, and with subtlety. Not many actors are equally good at both, but Richard aced it. Daniela Denby-Ashe was also a newbie for us, however, we liked her immensely. I love her eyebrows! She was really, really great at subtle acting, just the slightest change to her facial expression conveyed exactly what she was thinking about. And Sinead Cusack? Wow, she was fantastic, really awesome character portrayal and that accent...
We were also really impressed by how pretty the movie was - the colors and feel of all of the settings and clothes really reflected the story and setting. Very pretty colors; muted and dingy in the North, colorful and vibrant in the South.
I want to watch it again, already! We've watched it twice so far, but I have a feeling it's going to be viewed many more a time.
P.S. I promise that do so *not* have a thing for period drama guys with open shirt necks! What an accusation... Cross my fingers - I mean - heart!
And after all of this modern or futuristic film (c'mon, you know Star Trek is futuristic! Do you have a holodeck?), we were starting to hurt from 17th Century England withdraw. "Ouch!" we said, as Riker gets out his phaser and blasts a alien enemy. "Nooo," we say, "he's not attractive unless you put him in a tailcoat and cravat! Or even better, no cravat!" Tell-tale signs of BBC withdraw. And so you can imagine how excited we were to find that we could replace Star Trek (though it has its time and place) for a gorgeous and relatively new BBC drama. And not only was it just any drama, but it was adapted from an Elizabeth Gaskell book. Gaskell wrote Cranford, as well, which was adapted by BBC last year. A very good series.
Here is the brief version of my review, which contains NO spoilers. :)
North and South at first seems to be very much like other period dramas. The story told through the eyes of Margaret Hale (Denby-Ashe) and John Thornton (Armitage). Margaret is a strong young woman who, until the start of the story, lived in the comfortable, green South. (I capitalize the compass points for drama!) Her father uproots Margaret and her mother to move to the cold and dirty North, to a town called Milton, where the cotton industry and poverty rule the streets. John Thornton is the master of a prominent cotton mill - formidable, intelligent, to-drool-over without his cravat on... Moving on. The story revolves around how Margaret conforms to the ways of the North, how she adapts and learns to understand the people who live there - including the apparently unscrupulous Mr. Thornton.
We loved it. It is becoming our next Jane Eyre.
That is my brief version. :) I don't blame you if you chose to read the itsy-bitsy version and leave the rest and go about your daily life. But you see, I have *so* many thoughts on the movie that I simply had to continue writing about it, so my more in depth and spoiler-filled thoughts are as follows...
North and South seems, at first, to be like other period dramas. It is a perfect mix of a Jane Austen-like story, in the world of a Charles Dickens tale. Who could ask for more?!
Upon settling in Milton, Margaret's first acquaintances are the Thorntons, who own the most prominent cotton mill in Milton, Marborough Mill. And here is where you meet the leading man - Mr. John Thornton, Master of Marborough Mill. I loved how he was introduced: First viewed by Margaret, standing over his workrooms, and then, in a flying rage, beating a worker for smoking on the job. You immediately dislike him (despite his dreamy British qualities) - and so does Margaret. It fits! Finally, the prejudiced young woman *and* the audience doesn't like him much! I mean, who really didn't like Mr. Darcy, despite his incivility? Incivility doesn't affect an audience, nay, the more incivility the better, but to beat a helpless worker? To shout at her, telling her to get lost?
The characters in this story are very 3-dimensional. Mr. Thornton starts out seeming harsh, and slowly, through all four hours of the show, you see his depths. He isn't so bad, not at all. He is a self-made man, a sensible, clever man, who, despite his hard outward appearance necessary for his trade, is sensitive as well. His mother, Mrs. Hannah Thornton (Cusack), developed very much like her son - you begin by thinking she is an annoying, uppity, harsh woman, but as time goes on you see that she loves her son to death and her pride for him is explained. Some of the best scenes in the entire movie are between John and his mother. John's father died when he was young, so John and his mother have a close relationship - while his sister Fanny, who gave an absolutely hilarious performance - is just tolerated.
Margaret and her family are interesting, as well, though her parents aren't the most lively of people. Her mother is ill and her father is slightly simple, but neither are stupid. Margaret acts as the head of the family, independent and confident, though conforming to the ways of the North was a hard process. She befriends the workers, and as time goes on, she becomes familiar with the North, calls it her home as warmly as she before called the South so.
Margaret and John's relationship is hilter-kilter throughout. They begin on very bad terms, what with Margaret's deep loathing of him. They end up arguing at every meeting and generally make a mess of every conversation. However, Margaret is different than a stereotypical prejudiced young lady. She learns, she doesn't hold onto her grudges. Her opinions change, and though she once thought John was a harsh, horrible man, she adapts as she finds the reasoning to his methods.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable performance. The actors were great - Richard Armitage, whom we had never seen in anything before this, was really good (and so pale, my heavens.) His character had equal portions of acting with intensity, and with subtlety. Not many actors are equally good at both, but Richard aced it. Daniela Denby-Ashe was also a newbie for us, however, we liked her immensely. I love her eyebrows! She was really, really great at subtle acting, just the slightest change to her facial expression conveyed exactly what she was thinking about. And Sinead Cusack? Wow, she was fantastic, really awesome character portrayal and that accent...
We were also really impressed by how pretty the movie was - the colors and feel of all of the settings and clothes really reflected the story and setting. Very pretty colors; muted and dingy in the North, colorful and vibrant in the South.
I want to watch it again, already! We've watched it twice so far, but I have a feeling it's going to be viewed many more a time.
P.S. I promise that do so *not* have a thing for period drama guys with open shirt necks! What an accusation... Cross my fingers - I mean - heart!
