Netflix Period Drama Gems!

I finally gave in and subscribed to Netflix. I would like to say that although you won't find every title you may be looking for (far from it), there are enough fine choices to keep me busy all winter long. My first indulgence was watching North and South again. I loaned this DVD to a co-worker and have yet to urge it's return. So it was like visiting an old friend to watch one of my fave miniseries (from a fave book) and swoon over Mr. Thornton again. If you haven't seen this one, you must and if you already love it, it is well worth another viewing. It is hard to describe, but just trust me. It's awesome.

My first weekend of Netflix also included I Capture the Castle which is hard to find elsewhere and so I had been meaning to see this for ages. This one is wonderful and only a film not a miniseries. A few hours with Romola Garai and Bill Nighy. What more could you ask?

Speaking of Romola Garai, The Hour is a miniseries about a fictitious newsroom television show on the BBC in the 1950s where the producer is (gasp!) a woman. There is also a great mystery/spy plot going on and of course a romantic liaison or two! This series consists of 6 hour-long episodes for each of two seasons. Bet you can't watch just one!

Mansfield Park 1999. Frances O'Connor and Jonny Lee Miller? Heaven!! I see this one at least once twice three times a year. Mmmmmm.

The Buccaneers is another miniseries that flies under the radar but which deserves a much wider audience. 4 nouveau riche American girls (well, one is South American) can't break into the Victorian New York elite and so go to London for "The Season" and end up marrying into the British aristocracy with mixed results. One of my all time faves.

I like A Room with a View. It is not on my very top list but it is well worth seeing if it has been a while. A bit offbeat but the Italian scenery and the acting is top notch. And Maggie Smith is in prime form as is Helena Bonham Carter.

Little Dorrit is a true masterpiece. Andrew Davies is at his best when adapting Dickens and you couldn't get better acting. It will leave you riveted and your family will wonder why you have stopped cooking and returning phone calls for a week.

George Eliot can get a little unusual sometimes but her Daniel Deronda is amazing, both in novel form as well as in this spot on miniseries. Romola Garai (again! You could have a Romola fest on Netflix) and the ever gorgeous Hugh Dancy. And you have never seen Hugh Bonneville in a role like this. Wow!

Under the Greenwood Tree will give you a lovely little dose of Thomas Hardy's Wessex. Keeley Hawes is adorable. Light and sweet!

The Way We Live Now, a miniseries adaptation of Anthony Trollope's novel (also well worth reading) is a tour de force saga of a Victorian Ponzi scheme. Matthew Macfadyen as the drunken bad boy is reason enough to see this but the story, the acting and the drop dead gorgeous costumes and locations make this one a must see too.

The Damned United is a sports film about Leeds United, a football team (soccer) set in the 1970s and starring Michael Sheen as Brian Clough, the manager of the team. I saw this in our local art house theatre with my husband. Neither of us know anything about British football but both of us enjoyed it thoroughly. I loved the fact that it was set in the 70s, an era I remember well as a child. Oh, the furniture and fashions!

I am thrilled that I can see the latest Jane Eyre on Netflix. If I have the time for a miniseries, I prefer the 2006 miniseries, however this wonderfully made film from 2011 with Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender is a great way to spend a few hours. I don't have this one on DVD so I will really enjoy seeing this again for the first time since I saw it in the theatre.

Vanity Fair is another film which is a very pleasant way to spend a few hours. Again I prefer the miniseries (except for the music and cinematography which is much better in this one) but if you only have 2 hours, this one is great. And along with Reese Witherspoon, Romola Garai appears in this one yet again! I have to give a shout out to the novel (Vanity Fair: a novel without a Hero) by William Makepeace Thackeray which stays with me to this day. Watch and then read!

An Education is a trip to 1960s England following the trials of a young, gorgeous and extremely bright woman who gets accepted to Oxford University but who then gets waylaid by an intriguing but dangerous man. This one sucks you into the 60s and keeps you transfixed.

If you have never heard of 7 UP, it is a series of documentaries following a group of 7 year olds of different socio-economic backgrounds in England in 1964 and checking in on them every 7 years thereafter. I admit to being fascinated by this concept, especially living in Canada where we don't have the same kind of class system and private schools are fairly rare even now. Unlike in England, most of us have very similar accents (eh?) whereas in the UK your speech pattern can determine your future to a certain extent (although this seems to finally be changing). Fascinating! I will watch this whole series. I just started the first one and I am hooked!

Other good bets:

Kingdom with Stephen Fry
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with Judi Dench and Maggie Smith
Cheerful Weather for the Wedding with Felicity Jones
Wings of the Dove with Helena Bonham Carter
The English Patient with Ralph Fiennes and Kristen Scott Thomas
The Last Station with Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer
My Brilliant Career with Judy Davis and Sam Neill
The Importance of Being Earnest with Colin Firth and Rupert Everett
The Young Victoria with Emily Blunt
Dean Spanley with Jeremy Northam and Sam Neill
Anna and the King with Jodie Foster
A Royal Affair with Mads Mikkelsen and Alicia Vikander
Midnight in Paris with Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams
MI5 (Spooks) - the entire series!!
Mr Selfridge
Downton Abbey (1 &2)
Foyles War
Made in Dagenham with Sally Hawkins
Shakespeare in Love
The House of Cards (both British and American versions)
Upstairs Downstairs
Doc Martin
Pirate Radio
Clueless
Tamara Drewe
Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman
Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow
Fawlty Towers
Little Women with Susan Sarandon and Winona Ryder
The Winslow Boy with Jeremy Northam and Rebecca Pidgeon


And this is just Netflix Canada. Apparently in the US, you have many more choices and I think Netflix UK is different again. Let me know your Netflix favourites in the comments below. Looks like a good winter to me!

Cheers!

Romola Garai- Actor of the Week

Romola Garai

Romola Garai is a wonderful young English actress who has done many many period dramas in her short 29 years. She is right up there with Kate Winslet for the "Corset Queen of England" title!  For many of us, Daniel Deronda was our first exposure to her amazing talents.

Romola Garai as Gwendolen Harleth in Daniel Deronda

I think I may have to read Daniel Deronda now as I have just rewatched it and I am intrigued by Romola's character Gwendolen Harleth. Apparently F.R. Leavis (yes, THE literary critic referenced in Bridget Jones) thought that George Eliot's novel Daniel Deronda should have been named Gwendolen Harleth as the majority of the novel and all the interesting parts were about Gwendolen. Hmmmm...by the way, the dresses on Gwendolen/Romola alone make this wonderful miniseries worth watching. That and cutie Hugh Dancy! Hugh Bonneville as a baddie is pretty entertaining too.

Romola Garai in I Capture the Castle

I haven't yet seen I Capture the Castle (although just found out someone has posted it here on YouTube with the description of  "A love story set in 1930s England that follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, and the fortunes of her eccentric family, struggling to survive in a decaying English castle." I think I know what I will be watching tonight! Sounds amazing.

Romola Garai as Amelia Sedley with Rhys Ifans as Dobbin in Vanity Fair

In Vanity Fair, Romola plays the good-natured, lovable but fairly simple Amelia Sedley.  Romola does a good job playing the sweet Amelia who refuses to see any of her friend Becky's or her husband's shortcomings although they have many! The film rather whitewashed the sharper aspects of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel, but it is very pretty to watch and Mira Nair gave it a lovely Indian feel in all the right places. I should watch this one again sometime soon I think as I haven't seen it since 2004!

Romola Garai as Barbara Spooner in Amazing Grace

In Amazing Grace, Romola plays the strong supportive wife of main character William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffud) in his mission to abolish slavery in the British Empire. Romola does her usual awesome job and makes you really think Wilberforce couldn't have done it without her!

Romola Garai as Briony Tallis in Atonement

As the grown up Briony Tallis in Atonement, she gets the sadness of the character and the regret just right. This is a love it or hate it film. Having just said that, I didn't love it or hate it...I was just meh!

Romola Garai as Emma with Jonny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley

Well, Romola is my golden girl for her amazing protrayal of Emma. My sister and I will never agree on this one as Gwyneth Paltrow is her fave Emma (along with that entire version) but I have been totally converted to the 2009 version with Romola and Jonny. The chemistry between the two leads and the gorgeous locations, dresses, interiors, music...I could go on and on and on. I love this miniseries and Romola Garai is one of the main reasons. Her facial expressions make me laugh out loud and break my heart. Sigh!!!

Romola Garai as Victorian prostitute Sugar in The Crimson Petal and the White

As a Victorian prostitute, Romola is transfixing in this gritty portrayal of the seedy underbelly of London in the 1870s. Not family fare by any means, but if your taste runs to the more realistic and, again I have to say, gritty, this one is fabulous. There is nudity (which considering the plot is quite necessary). In this one, you can practically smell the stench on the street. I hope it wins some awards...BAFTA?

Romola Garai in The Hour

Romola scored one of three Golden Globe nominations for her role as television producer Bel Rowley in the 1950s era drama series The Hour. I haven't been able to get my hands on this one (also starring Ben Whishaw, Anna Chancelor, Domenic West and Juliette Stevenson) I am eager to see it. Romola must have done something pretty good to catch the eye of the Hollywood Foreign Press.

So really, I can't wait to see what Romola Garai does in her 30s as she has already made her mark. You go girl!

Vanity Fair - Film vs Miniseries

Vanity Fair BBC miniseries 1998 wins!

OK, I have given it away right here at the beginning...the 1998 BBC miniseries with Natasha Little, Nathaniel Parker and Philip Glenister is hands down the winner. I am betting that although many of you likely saw the 2004 film version with Reese Witherspoon, not many of you likely saw my winner (or read the amazing novel by William Makepeace Thackaray). I never would have read the novel if it hadn't been for the miniseries with the screenplay written by my hero, Andrew Davies, and with the captivating and mesmerizing Natasha Little in the title role. Mira Nair and Reese Witherspoon did their level best, but no contest between these two versions.

Natasha Little as Becky Sharp and Frances Grey as Amelia Sedley in Vanity Fair

Natasha Little does a fantastic job of playing the woman that other women love to hate, Becky Sharp. She is gorgeous, charming, cunning and ruthlessly manipulative, which is what she needs to be to climb that difficult social ladder in 19th century London. Frances Grey is also great as the unbelievably sweet and incredibly doting Amelia. They are both exactly as they should be.

Nathaniel Parker as Rawdon Crawley in Vanity Fair

Nathaniel Parker is spot on as Becky's husband the empty headed Calvary Officer Rawdon Crawley but the one you'll really fall for in this version is Philip Glenister as Dobbin.

Philip Glenister as William Dobbin in Vanity Fair

Philip Glenister will steal your heart as the tall, ungainly and supposedly plain William Dobbin, who is loyal to George Osborne and in love with Amelia Sedley until the bitter end. Stupid, stupid Amelia. You'll want to shake her little blond head and then run off with Dobbin yourself!!!!

Vanity Fair 2004 with Reese Witherspoon

The 2004 film version directed by Mira Nair is ambitious to try to cram this wonderful novel into 141 minutes. Well....good try, but not quite. Too much plot to condense and it loses something in the process.  Not surprisingly, Mira Nair gives her version an exotic, Indian twist, which is fair enough considering that the character of Jos Sedley as a successful Nabob in India was likely part of the draw for her.  It is gorgeously filmed and a feast for the eyes, which is probably enough to get me to watch it again if only for the costumes and locations.

James Purefoy as Rawdon Crawley and Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair

I will say that James Purefoy is quite sufficiently yummy as Captain Crawley.  Mmmm, mmmm, good. Unfortunately Reese Witherspoon is a bit too likeable to really pull of the anti-heroine Becky Sharp. She is quite beautiful enough and nails the alluring, intelligent, talented part of her personality. She just doesn't make me buy the amoral, manipulative, insincere part which is really the entire point of the story.

Romola Garai as Amelia  Sedley and Rhys Ifans as William Dobbin in Vanity Fair

Romola Garai who I usually love, does her best here but has to work fast to develop her character. And although he may have done a good job here, to me Rhys Ifans will forever be the goofy roommate Spike from Notting Hill running around in his underwear.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Rhys Ifans and James Purefoy in Vanity Fair

I didn't really like Jonathan Rhys Meyers portrayal of the selfish, vain George Sedley, although maybe he played it so well that I just hated the character. Or maybe I just hated the fact that he had too much 20th century hair gel going on????

In any case, if you haven't seen the 1998 BBC miniseries then you are in for a treat. And if you, like me, bought the Reese Witherspoon version, watch it again for the visual feast. And if you are tempted to read the novel, I believe it is one of the best novels I have ever read, even if it doesn't end as happily as one might like.

By the way, thanks to Charleybrown from Enchanted Serenity of Period Films for her wonderful lists of Georgian, Regency, Victorian and Edwardian films which have reminded me of many I want to see again, and many I have yet to see.

P.S. The music score of the 1998 Natasha Little version IS a travesty. Please try to ignore it and enjoy the acting. It's really in need of re-scoring but I'm sure it would be too expensive.