Smart writing on great drama. Mostly British. Mostly television and film -- from Pride and Prejudice to Spooks (MI-5) and much more. If its good drama, I'm on it.
I love the 1995 Pride and Prejudice adaptation. This is not an earth-shattering revelation. Many others do too. And I, like many others, watch it, oh, say, once or even twice a year. -- whenever I am getting in the mood for fall. . . or looking for a way to unwind after being really busy . . . or snuggled in by a fire at Christmas. . . there are many excellent excuses to re-watch.
So re-watch I did. Again. For the umpteenth time and, as I often do, I reflected upon Susannah Harker as Jane. When I first saw this series, many many years ago, I remember that I was just ever so slightly disappointed with Jane, thinking, as others have done before me, that she is just not quite breathtaking enough for the role. But each time I watch I see more and more of her beauty. You just have to look with the right eyes.
The problem is not Harker at all; it is her hair.
Now, this Pride and Prejudice was an authentic period piece, so I understand that they were constrained to Regency-era styles. Of course that would present some strictures as to what would be appropriate for Jane; but, it's just no excuse for her hair not to suit her face better. Other women in the production have hairstyles that really fit both the actress and what her character needed to convey. Especially Lizzy. Jennifer Ehle looks just as Lizzy ought to, and in some scenes, her hair adds immeasureably to her charms - for example, the Netherfield Ball 'do.
But poor Susanna Harker gets horns coming out of her temples. When she's casual, she gets to look long and stringy (with horns) and when she's dressed up, she gets to look too pulled back and severe (with horns.) The problem wouldn't amount to much except that Jane is supposed to be undeniably the most beautiful woman around and she comes off looking a bit unpleasant. This is unfair, because on viewing photos of the actress not as Jane, I can see that she is very very lovely.
Here is how good Harker can look when she isn't becoming Jane:
She is very beautiful!
She has an excellent Greek nose, translucent skin and a lovely turn of the neck! While I admit that sometimes the production managed to showcase these characteristics well, for the most part, it failed to. The inability capitalize on and showcase the beauty of the character who was supposed to delight our eyes is one of the very few weak points in the production.
Very subjective, slightly off the cuff list of my Top Five Jane Austen Heroes. These are the ones I would choose for myself -- assuming I were a Regency-era heroine -- and not based on any higher motives or purposes. (Oh, and if you want to know the best Austen heroines, click here!)
Mr. Knightley from Emma.
Captain Wentworth from Persuasion.
Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice.
Henry Tilney from Northanger Abbey.
Mr. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice.
Mr. Knightley - Kind and caring, but also very much in charge, he is the definition of gentleman - putting people around him (both high class and those of low rank) at their ease; defending his tenants and standing up for their lowly girlfriends. He believes in Emma and accepts her on her own terms but isn't blinded by her charm. He wants what is best for her but isn't controlling or overbearing in trying to change her. He is also humble about his claims on her affections. Darcy can't touch this man.
Captain Wentworth - Also a man who seems in control of himself and comfortable with his place in the world around him. A grown up man. Experienced, worldly, passionate intelligent, he worked hard for what he has and holds it dear. He values real depth of character, true love and, as we all know, is constant in his feelings for Anne. He's got a lot of cash, but not the trappings of old wealth; as a result he seems a lot free-er in his life.
Mr. Darcy - Darcy is the quintessential Austen hero for his wealth, grand estate, intelligence, forbearance and gentlemanly-ness. He is introverted and interesting in character, but harder to get to know than some of the others. However, that is rather the point. Because once he is fully and completely in love, he becomes the best of men. Time Magazine described the character, as portrayed by Colin Firth, as: "a man locked away within himself but with great personal standards and morality. It was a performance that made women of all ages swoon."
Henry Tilney - Tilney seems like the kind of guy it would be a lot of fun to hang around. He has a kind of lighthearted charm and warmth. He comes from old wealth, but finds the whole "game" distasteful. He is seeking something true and more meaningful, and he happens to have a great sister. Both are very real, understanding, intelligent, kind, and fun.
Mr. Bennett - A crazy choice, maybe, but I'm going to make a case for Mr. Bennett. No, he is not a good husband to the wife he's got. But, honestly, who could be? In the modern era he would be divorced and probably a lot happier. Yes, he is witty and acerbic, but he is not hateful. He loves where he sees goodness. He can be indulgent & kind and he feels deeply. He's just driven down by way to much "silliness" in his home. Give him some rational company and he's perfectly ready to spend his life being happy. I imagine a very comfortable life with him, just reading, talking, thinking, and hanging out in good comfort at a small country estate making goodhearted fun of the neighbors. Not a bad life at all.
What does Spooks have in common with Pride and Prejudice? On the surface very little. OK, there's that Firth thing. Which actually sounds like more of a connection than it is, considering the two actors (Peter Firth of Spooks and Colin Firth of Pride and Prejudice) are not related.
Besides that and the fact that both take place in England, as a matter of plot and purpose, they are very different indeed.
Having always been more of a Pride & Prejudice kind of gal, I find myself constantly fascinated with the fact that I am head over heels with the TV show Spooks. It seems so strange, but when I am not watching it, I am often thinking of it.
What hold it has, is the same one that other excellent TV drama has -- a fully realized "other world". A world where I can step inside and live for a while. This world is complete, comfortable, peopled with individuals that are flawed and real, interesting and incredibly alive - despite being fictional. In both Spooks and in good period drama, I am transported.
There is nothing wrong with my regular life. I am a happy person who lives squarely in reality. In fact, so squarely in reality, that most film and TV bores me. I do not readily give up the time it takes to watch screens. Still, put something supremely transporting on the screen and I am a willing participant.
I hand over responsibility for what fills my mind during the hours I am with a show like Spooks. And the beautiful thing is, that when it's over I am not ashamed for having done so. Really good drama is like reading a really good book. When you shut the cover, the contents stay with you. When I flip off the show at the end of Spooks, it is the same. I can readily picture the "Grid". I can remember the faces and conversations of my fictional companions there. I can remember how I feel while watching it and can almost think of it as another place I live. Just as, while watching Pride and Prejudice, can see myself as that 6th Bennett sister.
When drama is superb, its effect on my mind, my thoughts, my memory, my life can be profound. Even though it is just TV.
And, oh yeah, there's something else --- they both have Matthew MacFadyen. And, wait, now that I'm thinking of it, each features one of the best couples of all time! (Elizabeth & Darcy and Harry & Ruth). Wow, I guess there is a lot.
"What Does Spooks (MI-5) have in Common with Pride and Prejudice?" LostinBritishTV
Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy, as portrayed by Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, are the clear winners of the "Best Couple of All Time" Award. It is not just the brilliant writing of Jane Austen that brings these characters to life so fully realized, but the stunning performances of Ehle and Firth, both separately and together, due to their wonderful chemistry, that make this the all around best relationship ever put on film.
It is a relationship characterized by struggle, sparring, and misunderstanding, but also charm, wit, attraction and teasing. It is an almost perfect tale of lovers at cross purposes but with the great sense and compassion to allow them to be together in the end. There are barriers to their love - but they are not absolute barriers; they are allowed to share complete unblemished happiness by the end.
I have never been as taken with a book as I was with Pride and Prejudice when I first read it. I had heard of the book of course, but for some reason didn't know it. I thought of it like Crime and Punishment or War and Peace, some deep difficult tome that I should attack some day. Lucky for me, one day while browsing in the used book store I took the time to pick up a copy and read the back cover. I found that I was utterly mistaken about the topic and bought it immediately.
Having never read a work from that era, I found the style of writing fascinating and alien. Although Austen wrote in prose that was markedly different from modern English, I found it easy on the eye and not too complicated to follow. Her language simply flowed off the page and felt effortless. While some words and phases like "chase in four" and "Michaelmas" made no sense to me at first, the book was so immediately humorous and lighthearted that I sunk in instantly. It was an intelligent read, but not laborious. I remember noticing how quickly it was going by and started to budget myself, allowing myself only 20 pages at a sitting in order to make it last. But alas it ended. At which point I probably read it again right away.
Part of the charm of Pride and Prejudice is that which is found in all of Jane Austen's work. Her books are uniformly enjoyable for her use of language, her wit, and her keen observations on humanity. I find her prose amazing, as in this description of Mr. Collins: "The stupidity with which he was favoured by nature must guard his courtship from any charm that could make a woman wish for its continuance." Wow. If there has ever been a better sentence written in the whole of the English language, I would like to see it. Her books are all full of such gems. However, not to take anything away from her other books, I think the love story in Pride and Prejudice is probably her best.
Lizzy is an incredible heroine, with her vivacity and intelligence, approaching the world as a puzzle but doing so in an easy, natural manner. "It was not in her nature, however, to increase her vexations by dwelling on them. She was confident of having performed her duty, and to fret over unavoidable evils, or augment them by anxiety, was no part of her disposition." She is one of the best loved women in literature and deservedly so. She is lovely, sharp, compassionate and in almost complete control of herself. This passage, as Elizabeth prepares to meet the great Lady Catherine de Burgh at her estate Rosings Park is one of my favorites. "Elizabeth's courage did not fail her. She had heard nothing of Lady Catherine that spoke her awful from any extraordinary talent or miraculous virtue, and the mere stateliness of money and rank she thought she could witness without trepidation." I thought of these words one day as I steeled myself to visit the home of a very wealthy friend of my son for a play date. I tried hard to witness their wealth without trepidation as Lizzy would have done. But I know that, as much as I wish I were Lizzy Bennett, I am not. She is the better woman.
The exchanges between her and Mr. Darcy, which we would now call "banter," are just gorgeous and so fine. Mr. Darcy's chief quality is being smart enough to understand her and brave enough to pursue her. Truly. How unlikely is that? The fact that a man of his wealth and station in life is able to fall so fully in love with a middle class country girl by page 38! The reader learns his feelings after an exchange at a small party where Darcy has asked Elizabeth if she didn't want to dance a reel. To this she replies that he must have wanted her to say "yes" so that he would have that excuse to "despise her taste." Instead, she insists that she does not want to dance a reel and that he should "despise me if you dare!""Indeed I do not dare," he replies and "Elizabeth, having rather expected to affront him, was amazed at his gallantry; but there was a mixture of sweetness and archness in her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody, and Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. He really believed that were it not for the inferiority of her connections he should be in some danger."
And even though the inferiority of her connections is extraordinary, and he is obviously concerned about it, he is willing to forget and propose 100 pages later. We, the readers/viewers, have known this was abrewin' for most of the book, but Elizabeth, taken by surprise, skewers him in a brilliantly acted scene from both actors. It is a testament to her character that she rejects him here. How many of us could have done that?! Seriously. Colin Firth's acting rends my heart. But she is a terrific heroine and she will not be gotten that easily.
The story goes on and most of the complications that have knit themselves between our lovers are slowly unraveled and they are ready to be together. This beautiful scene portrays forgiveness, longing and absolute adoration and it is all done through their eyes. These two actors both have such an astonishing ability to communicate through expression alone. I have still never been able to find out who is actually doing the singing of Mozart's Voi Che Sepate, in this scene: if it is indeed Jennifer Ehle singing? It's wonderful. The song is evocative of a mood, as is the piece Miss Darcy plays -- full of tension and then resolution. Elizabeth's deft handling of Miss Bingley makes Darcy an absolute goner. Look at that look on his face after Elizabeth rescues his sister.
I could go on. We all know how they are on the verge of total happiness when Elizabeth's sister Lydia screws everything up by running away with Wickham. That must be resolved and our hero has to be taken down a notch or two. He has to really prove that her lowly screwed up connections mean nothing to him next to his undying unfathomable passion for her.
And Elizabeth has to have her own exorcism of relative-issues in that great scene where she puts Lady Catherine in her place. It serves the purpose of allowing her to assert passionately and publicly that she would consider and probably accept a proposal from Mr. Darcy.
Of course she does just that and the two get to be together, happily forever. A beautiful story.
"The Best Couple of All Time: Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy." LostinBritishTV
