Mary Carroll – Google

Very well done period piece with joy and fury, about undereducated, sheltered aristocratic British women/teenagers in the 30's. Am in the first episode, and it has been lively. I am discomfited in a big way though (really enough to dock two stars,not just one) by the casting of the two main characters- various issues, but I'll stick with then 30ish and 37ish years old women playing 16+ year olds, in this first episode. Maybe the distancing created for the viewer by their mature control makes it easier to look at their difficult lives, but more real teenaged actors would be more heart-wrenching. The whole thing is a little arch is a great way so I can see the choice. I see they age in coming episodes so it may read differently. Isn't really the impression I previously had of the extraordinary Mitfords, didn't know it was supposed to be them.

My impressions of the chacters actual stories lead me to wish for a fuller, realer treatment. I don't know if Graves was more romantic than here but he was not, here. Their first house/cottage was not so grand with a formal gargen, I think. The timelines were scrambled, and thernumber of their children changed. His supposed rapid ascent to wealth indicated by his and Laura's delicious London housing doesn't ring true, though I know he became a prolific writer. Just because Nancy kept saying he was a gfreat writer does not mean it was true. Her story like the rest was glossed where a truer vision might have meant more. I 've been to the house in Mallorca and certainly a film could have been made truer to this writer's world. Plus the sexist rudeness of other famous London male writers could have taken less screentime. Laura Riding was very unique and not easy and well, that's another film really.

Disclaimer is attracively shot though not in any original way, with some going on and on, a restaurant seduction an eternal ten minutes; well acted( but Sasha Baron -Cohen's name above Leslie Manville's-outrageous); and has beautiful locations. The writing and storyline sadly are so basic, I can't even say old-fashioned because that would suggest a time when this storyline would be thought well done- that I must watch with the sound off and enjoy the scenery.

This season was interesting allbeit extra violent for one of my alltime fave shows. All characters churning along intriguingly, French plotline hard to sort, then... a big No to Hugo Weaving's character who was a broad American one note creation. Like a sociopath Jeff Bridges, over confident laconic western accented boring ( boring psycho character , no relation to Jeff Bridges) white guy. His accent and slow pretentious delivery were unbearable. This brought everything down and was perhaps an anti-American dig, which I can appreciate; but not when it killed the buzz of a great great program.

Same old story.A long life of a smart gorgeous woman subservient to a horrible supposedly talented man. In current time! Lena Olin is a very expressive actor with the alarming look of a size o woman appearing to be 20 or so years less than her age. The character is very aware and yet self- programmed to be universally at any and every moment attracted to, providing for, and available to her miserable spouse. This for me was poorly written by someone in a bad dream. Her re-animation of her own art talent so late in life and given away was not such a pleasure.Tough to watch including the offensive ending as if the husband needed more gifts. The Glen Close film w the similar theme is far better.

Many very good performances and the first two seasons are so touching and engaging- the harrowing pain of infertility, the warm chemistry of the leads and their friends, the charms of Camden. The fabulous Imelda Staunton is finally given a role as a beautiful exciting modern person. Rafe Spall is continually intriguing here with a cheerful and subtle balance. The whole endeavor and the female lead go to cutesie, hammy overload for me in the third season however, including hours more of closeups of hyper and broad reactions, mouths agape and eye rolling, extreme costuming.

It gets the job done, and I wish the form was more. Enjoyed the full and nuanced work of Erin Doherty. Focusing on an overly tight circle of very monied friends as the first goal of this grifter's story was cumbersome as her every new moment with any of them was shot with their questions about who she is and what she is doing. The hostess of a party has time to interrupt our heroine's four or five chats w different people. The story moves towards truth-seeking and her survival/empowerment and I 'd have liked some filmic foreshadowing of these elements. There is a cumulative critique of this circle. The treatment of teenaged female bestfriend-dom, and the support and non-support of young women by their families was slow building and very touching.