[.ca] Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now (2001)

From Amazon.com:
First screened on BBC in 2001, The Way We Live Now will surprise those who know Anthony Trollope through the subtleties of his Barsetshire novels. This story of ambition centers around Augustus Melmotte, an Austrian Jewish financier who takes the London money markets and social scene by storm in his efforts to become an "English country gentleman." His rise and fall is followed with remorseless logic by Trollope, and David Yates's direction keeps this in focus against a wealth of subplots and character interaction. The cast is a strong one, with David Suchet's Melmotte gripping in his recklessness, climaxing in the theatrical magnificence of his departure in disgrace from the House of Commons. Shirley Henderson is magnetic as his put-upon daughter Marie, courted by the cream-of-society bachelors for her dowry rather than her person. Cheryl Campbell gives a good account of the feckless Lady Carbury, writing vacuous novels to support her family, with Matthew MacFadyen relishing the part of her rakish son, Felix. Paloma Baeza is sympathetic as her daughter, Hetta, whose on-off relationship with entrepreneur Paul Montague, ably taken by Cillian Murphy, provides the main love interest. Douglas Hodge impresses as the loyal and sincere but insipid Roger Carbury. The series consists of four generous episodes, each lasting 75 minutes. This is an absorbing production of what isn't the most subtle of Victorian novels, but which surely remains among the most relevant. --Richard Whitehouse

Have read the novel:
Overall this film does a good job with the novel. I do wish it had given the full ending (the novel tells what happens to Madame and Marie Melmotte, and the film doesn't). I do think the film is over-dramatised, with too much shouting and too much sex. The often loud modern background music is distracting at times, particularly when it gets into woo-woo-woo wordless female vocals. The characters are all played very well with the exception of Marie Melmotte. The actress uses a coy, childlike female voice reminiscent of some 1920s female comic singers. Also, I think the film misinterprets Marie's character. In the book she was lonely; ignored by her stepmother, used by her father to further his ambitions regardless of her wishes--even beaten by him--and despised by society, who only valued her father's money. Marie was also naive, ready to believe Felix's avows of love because no one else made any (her other suitors are too gentlemanly to lie as extravagantly as Felix). And, none of the Melmottes were entirely conversant with the habits of upper-class British society. However, in the film Marie is also portrayed as so (...) that she siezes every opportunity to kiss and fondle Felix, even publicly dragging him behind doors at parties and stroking his thighs in front of numerous dinner guests. This is simply not Anthony Trollope. Also, I'd expect Marie might get confused about which fork to use, but not to tear at her food like a savage. However, I'm going to keep this film in my collection--and remember it next time I'm tempted to buy high-tech stock.

This is the Best..It actually changed my life (i am serious!:
First of all, I am rarely a fan of shows with British accents, etc. But this mini-series is unbelivable. It has actually changed my life. I watched this series by accident but am very proud i did. THe way the characters are portrayed I was able to see very clearly how different type of people deal with the same situation. Now after watching it I am also looking at world with many lenses. Highly recommended.

Brilliant production!:
Everything about this BBC production was perfect. In particular, David Suchet shows that he can be much more than Poirot ;-). My wife and I recommend it highly.

That Moutet woman:
She watches all the BBC videos in Clermont-Ferrand or Limoges or wherever... I checked out her other reviews and there is a thread of a primitive feminism, strange interest in contemporary affairs expressed as "Bush Dynasty" and a pointed remark "I am reading (or watching) all this {stuff reviewed} in France. Well, friends, I have news for Mmselle Moutet : Her compatriots don't give a damn about their own heritage, yeah, they have some DVDs of Louis de Funes, Jacques Tati etal, but where are the Cayattes, Autant-Laras, Delannoys, Clouzots, huh ?? Where are the inspired and enlightened film or DVD interpretations of Zola, Nizan, Celine and countless others. Oh, yes, Mme.Bovary rules, for obvious reasons. So she will judge "The Way We Live Now" from the benighted distance of Vichy... The closest I can come to praise the French heritage preservation is the Claude Lelouch's astounding "Les Miserables", it was a flop in France, (nobody reads Victor Hugo any more and is willing to accept an extrapolation of his novel). The richness of Mmlle. Moutet culture is indubitable, but she fails to observe it but rather she choses to critique the Anglo-Saxon stuff. I wonder why .. This Trollop film version is as good as could be, as the requirements of a filmic interpretation are different from the original purely literary (verbal) content - and - yes, most of us read the novel at least once and can well imagine the quandaries of the transfer to an audio-visual medium. But the point is : What is bugging the French ?? You know, I am fluent in French language, and when in France, I delight in confronting all the nasty little Parisians in their very idiom. But I wouldn't go on Amazon.fr and review a vacuous piece of self professed non-fiction, which in fact is a fiction for most part. I could easily get these clues from "Neue Zuricher Zeitung", "The Economist", and even the "Christian Science Monitor" or "Der Spiegel". Trust the BBC not for their news, but for the recent renewal of their interest in the English heritage.

Fantastic!:
I have been slowly working my way through the Trollope novels, and have not yet read The Way We Live Now. If the book is even remotely similar to this production, it must be fabulous. David Suchet is wonderful, but I must admit that Shirley Henderson playing his daughter Marie steals every scene she is in. The two of them playing off each other is some of the funniest work I have seen in a very long time (the scene in which Marie is in her father's study to steal money and does a brief impersonation of him had me laughing out loud). I am embarassed to admit that my first though upon hearing her speak was "It's Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter" (Ms. Henderson's speaking voice is somewhat unique), but that image is wiped from the viewers mind within minutes of her appearing on the screen. Because of this production, I can't wait to read the book version.