Cranford -- My Thoughts (part one)
May. 4th, 2008 11:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
olde_fashionedI've just returned from the first of three trips back in time to a little English village called Cranford. ;-) It was every bit as delightful as my great expecations expected it would be, and even succeeding them in some respects.
[Consider yourself warned....there are gazillions of spoilers.]
Because this is only the first part of three, and that I liked it very much, I feel as if I have hardly anything to say, other than to expostulate on seeing so many familiar faces in such different roles, and delight in watching some of the scenes that I read in the novel earlier this year be brought so charmingly to life. I can see why this series was such a hit -- I would have liked to have lived in Cranford, and to have some (not all!) of it's residents as neighbors and friends. Even though several of it's residents are petty nosey gossips, most of them have good hearts and stand behind their friends and neighbors when they are in trouble.
This is probably redundant, but Judi Dench is such a good actress. She is perfect as Miss Mattie, very sweet, with just the teensiest touch of the ridiculous, and so kind. Her timidity and obeisance to her somewhat overbearing sister makes me alternately smile, roll my eyes, or shake my head, just as Elizabeth Gaskell wrote her. :-)
Jessie Brown (Julia Sawalha, or Lydia Bennet for those of you familiar with the 1995 P&P) greatly surpassed my expectations. I was afraid they might have written her as a "goody goody" and blissfully ignorant, rather akin to her character in Horatio Hornblower. But she was so very good! So good in fact, that my dad was astonished when he finally gave up on guessing and I told him who she was. ;-) I very much liked the subtle yet poignant hints of romance between her and Major Gordon. Kudos to my dad for spotting him, who was Robert Martin in the '96 Emma! I swear it doesn't look like him, but it is. I looked him up on IMDb. (gotta love them!!) And what a nice Scottish accent he had! (and did anyone notice? He's finally learnt the art of romance in the forest...okay, I doubt if anyone will get that, but oh well.) According to IMDb he is married to Charlotte Lucas from the '95 P&P! *sings It's a Small World* I swear all these British actors like doing costume dramas because that's where they all meet their spouses.
Have I ever mentioned that I love it when stories have doctors in them?? Well I do. It always makes things so much more interesting! It always means we get a dose of blood and guts (or blood and compound fractures, in this case, which I enjoyed very much, and was surprised at the amount of blood and bone they actually filmed) with a glimpse of period medical practices. Delightful! Absolutely delightful! That's partially why I like Master & Commander so much. ;-)
And speaking of Dr. Harrison a.k.a. Mr. Bingley 2005, he does have impeccable taste in clothes. I for one loved his red coat! ;-P And it was so sweet how he looked at Sophie Hutton all the time, and gave her brother Walter rides on his horse. POOR little Walter! *cries* Sooo SAD! I really thought that he was going to live. *sniff sniff* And now we shall have guilty angsty Dr. Harrison and a guilty downtrodden Sophie. She's such a sweet thing, and very pretty. She reminds me of Carey Mulligan as Ada in Bleak House. (as if it's not enough that everybody *IS* in this, I have to go and say who the "nobodies" remind me of!! *facepalm*)
Whoever that woman was who kept trying to entrap him with her "heart palpitations" cracked me up and disgusted me all at the same time. She's got to be at least ten years older than him!! And any idiot can see he's falling all over himself for Sophie. It's rather like Miss Bates setting her cap at Stephen Maturin. 8-/
Loved the scenery, the music, and the costumes -- rather a few too many floppy caps for my taste but I'm still hoping for a ball, or at least a wedding!! If not then I suppose the garden party shall have to do.
And candles...I do not think I shall ever look at candles the same way again. What a wonderfully heartwarming scene. "You're not in London, you're in Cranford now." As if to say that Those Londoners won't look after their own, but We Cranfordites will! I love that brand of loyalty and Christian morality.
Mary -- who shall she marry? ;-) I do not think she is quite contrary, indeed not at all! But I wonder how her garden grows? ;-P (yes I know I am lame...)
All the Johnson vs. Dickens bits amused me excessively, and I hope there is more of that to come. I would like to see a certain scene from the book, we shall see if it's there. ;-)
The scene with the cat was surprisingly, er, um, graphic? But highly amusing. I don't know if I could bring myself to wear that lace ever again...
Cows in grey flannel!!!! ROTFLOL!!!!
The coal shovel -- that was very nice of Captain Brown. I liked that part.
Did anyone else recognize 2005 Charlotte Lucas as Martha, Miss Mattie's and Miss Deborah's maid? ;-D
Well! I could sit here for the rest of the night boring you all with my did-you-see-so-and-so stuff but I sha'n't, even though I'm sure I've forgotten something, but that's all for now. This has gotten longer than I anticipated, anyway. :-)
[Consider yourself warned....there are gazillions of spoilers.]
Because this is only the first part of three, and that I liked it very much, I feel as if I have hardly anything to say, other than to expostulate on seeing so many familiar faces in such different roles, and delight in watching some of the scenes that I read in the novel earlier this year be brought so charmingly to life. I can see why this series was such a hit -- I would have liked to have lived in Cranford, and to have some (not all!) of it's residents as neighbors and friends. Even though several of it's residents are petty nosey gossips, most of them have good hearts and stand behind their friends and neighbors when they are in trouble.
This is probably redundant, but Judi Dench is such a good actress. She is perfect as Miss Mattie, very sweet, with just the teensiest touch of the ridiculous, and so kind. Her timidity and obeisance to her somewhat overbearing sister makes me alternately smile, roll my eyes, or shake my head, just as Elizabeth Gaskell wrote her. :-)
Jessie Brown (Julia Sawalha, or Lydia Bennet for those of you familiar with the 1995 P&P) greatly surpassed my expectations. I was afraid they might have written her as a "goody goody" and blissfully ignorant, rather akin to her character in Horatio Hornblower. But she was so very good! So good in fact, that my dad was astonished when he finally gave up on guessing and I told him who she was. ;-) I very much liked the subtle yet poignant hints of romance between her and Major Gordon. Kudos to my dad for spotting him, who was Robert Martin in the '96 Emma! I swear it doesn't look like him, but it is. I looked him up on IMDb. (gotta love them!!) And what a nice Scottish accent he had! (and did anyone notice? He's finally learnt the art of romance in the forest...okay, I doubt if anyone will get that, but oh well.) According to IMDb he is married to Charlotte Lucas from the '95 P&P! *sings It's a Small World* I swear all these British actors like doing costume dramas because that's where they all meet their spouses.
Have I ever mentioned that I love it when stories have doctors in them?? Well I do. It always makes things so much more interesting! It always means we get a dose of blood and guts (or blood and compound fractures, in this case, which I enjoyed very much, and was surprised at the amount of blood and bone they actually filmed) with a glimpse of period medical practices. Delightful! Absolutely delightful! That's partially why I like Master & Commander so much. ;-)
And speaking of Dr. Harrison a.k.a. Mr. Bingley 2005, he does have impeccable taste in clothes. I for one loved his red coat! ;-P And it was so sweet how he looked at Sophie Hutton all the time, and gave her brother Walter rides on his horse. POOR little Walter! *cries* Sooo SAD! I really thought that he was going to live. *sniff sniff* And now we shall have guilty angsty Dr. Harrison and a guilty downtrodden Sophie. She's such a sweet thing, and very pretty. She reminds me of Carey Mulligan as Ada in Bleak House. (as if it's not enough that everybody *IS* in this, I have to go and say who the "nobodies" remind me of!! *facepalm*)
Whoever that woman was who kept trying to entrap him with her "heart palpitations" cracked me up and disgusted me all at the same time. She's got to be at least ten years older than him!! And any idiot can see he's falling all over himself for Sophie. It's rather like Miss Bates setting her cap at Stephen Maturin. 8-/
Loved the scenery, the music, and the costumes -- rather a few too many floppy caps for my taste but I'm still hoping for a ball, or at least a wedding!! If not then I suppose the garden party shall have to do.
And candles...I do not think I shall ever look at candles the same way again. What a wonderfully heartwarming scene. "You're not in London, you're in Cranford now." As if to say that Those Londoners won't look after their own, but We Cranfordites will! I love that brand of loyalty and Christian morality.
Mary -- who shall she marry? ;-) I do not think she is quite contrary, indeed not at all! But I wonder how her garden grows? ;-P (yes I know I am lame...)
All the Johnson vs. Dickens bits amused me excessively, and I hope there is more of that to come. I would like to see a certain scene from the book, we shall see if it's there. ;-)
The scene with the cat was surprisingly, er, um, graphic? But highly amusing. I don't know if I could bring myself to wear that lace ever again...
Cows in grey flannel!!!! ROTFLOL!!!!
The coal shovel -- that was very nice of Captain Brown. I liked that part.
Did anyone else recognize 2005 Charlotte Lucas as Martha, Miss Mattie's and Miss Deborah's maid? ;-D
Well! I could sit here for the rest of the night boring you all with my did-you-see-so-and-so stuff but I sha'n't, even though I'm sure I've forgotten something, but that's all for now. This has gotten longer than I anticipated, anyway. :-)
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Date: 2008-05-05 11:26 am (UTC)(And I love your thoughts. Look forward to them after every costume drama airs. Dearie me, look at all these italics. Just call me Rilla Blythe.)
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Date: 2008-05-05 04:24 pm (UTC)Awwwww!! You flatter me! :-D And in my turn, I'll admit that I look forward to posting them and getting comments. :-)
I like italics.
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Date: 2008-05-05 02:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 04:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 03:09 pm (UTC)Mr. Bingley was a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. And I do love some angst! *rubs hands* I have the suspicion that 1) blond cute girl will guilt herself to death or 2) her guilt will spoil her crush/love for Mr. Bingley because she will always think of the party/the night following whenever she looks at him. Therefore, Mr. Bingley will end up with the other girl. I mean, you can't have a main character help with the surgery for nothing at all! She must get married, of course!
I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv a red coat. It reminded me of Col. Brandon's in the recent S&S, though I think his was velvet.
It's so much fun spotting all these actors/actresses. :D
So, anyway, yes, I loved it. I can't wait until next week!! Do you suppose the book they're releasing has all four novels in it? I might have to call in and order it, because my mom's version is just the one book and it's nearly impossible to find the others, as we well know. ;)
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Date: 2008-05-05 04:35 pm (UTC)Oh, no! Angsty heroes! *snaps fingers* Darn. I guess we'll just have to endure it then...;-P
I think you are probably right, although even with the boating scene I cannot picture Mary with Dr. Harrison. I mean, she looks like she's older than him, but I did consider it when she helped him in the surgery. And you seeee what I mean about doctors making things more interesting????? ;-P They're only around so ladies can help them perform surgery. ;-P
It actually reminded me of David Rintoul's in the old P&P and Willoughby's in S&S '95. ^-^ Needless to say it was a very nice coat, indeed...a runaway coat! Very fashionable. hahaha.
Yes, it is! I heard someone describe it as unexpected old friends popping in for tea. ;-D My viewing experience was peppered with exclamations of "Oh LOOK!! Lookie who THAT is!!" lol.
Me too! Me wants to know, do be a dear and let me know when you know? TIA. :-)
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Date: 2008-05-05 06:51 pm (UTC)I don't think she's much older than him. She can't be more than...28, I'd say. And he's gotten out of Medical School, so he has to be... 25ish? maybe less. But that's okay! My mom's older than my dad by about five years.
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Date: 2008-05-07 08:37 pm (UTC)Okay, enough speculating. ("There is nothing certain about speculation!!!") ;-P I looked them both up, and you are pretty darn close. Mr. Bingley is 28, and Mary Smith is 29. I thought they both were older than that -- I thought she was thirtysomething, and I was shocked to see how young he was!!
Oh, I know. I don't think there's anything morally wrong with a woman being older than the man, I just don't think I could do that. To paraphrase Dorothea from Middlemarch, I would want my husband to be better than me, to have more experience and have a greater understanding, so I could safely and confidently rest secure in his judgement. If I was the elder, I would probably tend to second guess more, you know? ;-P [/long boring and uninteresting rant]
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Date: 2008-05-07 08:51 pm (UTC)Aha! I was right! :D See, how they HAVE to get together!
I know what you mean. But I don't think there's a huge difference in five years or so--depending on the fellow in question, of course.
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Date: 2008-05-07 09:00 pm (UTC)Oh, totally. Some guys are mature enough at 20, while others at 50 still act like children. :-P
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Date: 2008-05-07 09:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-07 09:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 03:47 pm (UTC)I did! :-D
I loooove Mr. Bingly. I mean Dr. Harrison.
I'm still hoping for a ball, or at least a wedding!! If not then I suppose the garden party shall have to do.
Oh, SURELY there must be one more such event. We have plenty of time!
Mary -- who shall she marry?
I actually hope she won't marry anyone, but I suppose that's too much to wish for.
Cows in grey flannel!!!! ROTFLOL!!!!
I. Died.
Well! I could sit here for the rest of the night boring you all with my did-you-see-so-and-so stuff but I sha'n't, even though I'm sure I've forgotten something, but that's all for now.
I'm planning to post a list at my journal just for the fun of it! :-) And Mrs. Hale from North & South! I'm surprised you didn't mention that one! I was so excited!
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Date: 2008-05-05 05:11 pm (UTC)LOL. I rather miss his red hair.
*wills a Cranford wedding*
Why don't you want her to marry?
I knew about that, from the book, but seeing it was sooo funny...
Ack! I did recognize her, honestly I did, and was delighted to see a representative of N&S in with all those W&D ladies. ;-) But I forgot to mention her!! Alas. Loved her accent, too...
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Date: 2008-05-06 12:05 am (UTC)I don't know, I rather like him like this.
I cheated. I looked up the very end. I won't say anything, though. ;-)
I don't know. She just seems to be such a bright, independent woman. She doesn't have to marry...but I imagine she will. I just hope it's to the right guy.
As far as I'm concerned, that image only is worth watch it for. :-D
I was finding it hard to believe that you hadn't noticed her... ;-D
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Date: 2008-05-06 12:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-07 08:42 pm (UTC)I didn't say I didn't like him in this!! I said I missed his red hair. I have a thing for red hair -- I think it's beautiful.
EEEEEKKKK well then don't spoil it for the rest of us!!! :-P I sha'n't listen to you. *clamps hands over ears*
And why should a bright and intelligent woman be lest apt to marry than a dull and stupid one????
LOL! I think it's worth it just to see Judi Dench. She's a great actress, and I'm more used to seeing her play the stronger characters, i.e. Queen Victoria, Lady Catherine, etc.
Ha. I did notice, really, and exlaimed, "OH look!! It's Mrs. Hale!!" rather gleefully, only when I write things up I tend to forget things that I wanted to say. :-/
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Date: 2008-05-22 04:56 pm (UTC)I'm bad. I can't help it. I've done it before. I worry that something won't turn out the way I want it to, so I have to take a peek at the end. Otherwise, I worry so much that it ruins the beginning and middle of the movie/book. In order to enjoy something that I am seriously involved in, I have to know how it's going to end.
I'm not saying she should be lest apt to marry, I'm saying she would be less likely to find a man who can truly appreciate her and won't smother her. Maybe I'm picking up a similar vibe from her.
Anyway, I like the idea now of her and Jack. ;-D
Judi Dench is an amazing actress. And you're right, this role is much different from, say, M from James Bond. She really is so talented.
Oh, I believe you! Sometimes I've considered sitting there with a notebook and pen and writing down the things I think as I watch. But then I would spend too much time looking down!
Sorry it took me 3000 years to get back here. I was studying mostly (I've got biology facts coming out of my ears). I have made exactly two graphics in the past two weeks, those being my N&S entries. I really haven't had much time. :-(
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Date: 2008-05-25 09:00 pm (UTC)LOL! It ruins it for me more if I already know part of the plot. I don't know why. I like guessing and then being all I TOLD YOU SO. ;-P LOL.
Yes, Mary and Jack must marry. ;-D
Judi Dench is a wonderful actress, and I hope she keeps doing the costume dramas!!
LOL, yes, and miss the plot!! I've considered doing the same, but the "experience" wins out.
Oh, no no!! Don't worry about it in the least. :-) I'm busy too, so I totally know where you're coming from.
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Date: 2008-05-05 04:30 pm (UTC)Julia Sawalha is even better in Lark Rise to Candleford if you have an opportunity to see that.
And I *think* I got the romance/forest reference. I hope. :S
Sophy is very like Carey Mulligan.
The candle scene is amazing.
As for Mary's marital prospects... *keeps mum* :P
Sorry for the very random reply!!
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Date: 2008-05-05 05:13 pm (UTC)I would like to try that out, too. I hear Brendan Coyle is in it. ;-)
LOL! What did you think it was?
I did think it was her, from promo pics, but knew it wasn't. They could be sisters.
It's amazing how these costume dramas can instill meanings into otherwise meaningless everyday objects...*coughtrainstationscough*
Don't tell me!! Don't tell me!! *plugs ears*
Don't be sorry, I enjoyed it. :-) Is it amusing to you to watch others writhe in suspense when you already know the ending?? ;-P
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Date: 2008-05-05 04:41 pm (UTC)I enjoyed your thoughts. :)
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Date: 2008-05-05 05:16 pm (UTC)Thank you! I enjoyed your comment. :-)
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Date: 2008-05-05 05:16 pm (UTC)I loved the line about Captain Brown's tastes in literature being "sadly popular." Dickens sadly popular! It's great!
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Date: 2008-05-05 06:13 pm (UTC)I thought she was almost Cromwellian in her religion. *shrug*
LOL! I remember from the book's footnotes that Dickens tried to get Gaskell to change the references to him, because she was writing in his paper and he didn't like how that "looked." It wouldn't work any other way, though, and the comparison between Johnson and Dickens!! Ha!!
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Date: 2008-05-05 05:58 pm (UTC)I noticed a lot of lacy caps too. Boring. Want more bonnets!
Just a little note on the recent BBC films, our local Costco has been selling them in sets. I just bought S&S, Persuasion, and Miss Austen Regrets in a collectors set last week. Last month they had collections of older BBC productions, and I bought the George Elliot series and the Anthony Trollope series. I think the sets are running about $30.
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Date: 2008-05-05 06:06 pm (UTC)Lacy caps are all very well, but I want DRESSES!! The only memorable one was that red silk think that wierdo woman wears, and who'd want to make her dress?? I'm still holding out for a ball or a wedding. ;-D
I've also been watching Middlemarch. (have you seen that?) I want Dorothea's riding habit!!!! EEEEE!!!!!
Trollope, did that have The Way We Live Now? That bored me to distraction, but everything Miranda Otto wears is WONDERFUL. I wouldn't mind owning that black sheer thing she wears!! *drools* She might have been a bad girl, but she was very elegant in that movie.
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Date: 2008-05-05 06:26 pm (UTC)Yes, my Trollope series had The Way We Live Now. It was rather monotonous but I enjoyed the costumes. :)
I can't remember much about Middlemarch. I just watched Mill on the Floss a couple days ago, and I realize it was in the 70s but it was rather soap operatic, a little too much drama sometimes. Loved those costumes tho, the Romantics. I took a couple photos off the tv screen, and want to make one with a belt and lovely buckle now.
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Date: 2008-05-05 06:32 pm (UTC)Monotonous, and vulgar!! Everyone kept chewing with their mouths open. It was horrible.
Middlemarch has mediocre costumes. Some, like the riding habits, are very pretty, but mostly the waistlines bounce up and down between Empire and the Romantic styles. They are "country fashions." ;-) Wives & Daughters is much better.
I didn't like the Romantic costumes at all until I grew to appreciate those in W&D more. They're kind of odd, but loveable in their own way. ;-) My favourite all-time Romantic costume is the green ball gown Cynthia wears in London, and then that shirtwaist/blousey thingie with the belt. I think she wears it when Mr. Preston comes to call for the first time. [/costume rant]