|
|
Rating:  - Really disappointing
I had high hopes for one of the most interesting novels in the Forsyte Chronicle Series: To Let. This novel featured the "star crossed lovers" Jon Forsyte, son of Irene and Young Jolyon and Fleur Forstye, daughter of Soames and Annette Forsyte. I read the novel and was enthralled with the 1969 dramatization which featured the exceptional and perfectly cast Susan Hampshire as Fleur Forsyte. The episodes covering To Let not only featured Ms. Hampshire but Kenneth More, Eric Porter, and Nyree Dawn Porter. It was wonderful.
As I started to watch the new series I thought I was in for a treat. Was I wrong! The writers seemed to throw Galsworthy's wonderful story out the window for a revisionist look at Jon and Fleur's love story. It started by creating a meeting that never took place in the book between Jon and Fleur as children (giving the young people a sense of deja vu when they meet in the art gallery in 1920). Nothing of the sort ever took place. Jolyon and Irene spent much of their time at Robin Hill and Soames and Annette at Mapledurham. The young people never met until the fateful encounter at the art gallery.
The writers took liberties with the plot in many jarring ways. Monty Dartie died before events of To Let took place. Yet there he is (looking like he hasn't aged a day) stirring up trouble for Winifred. The new series has Fleur going incognito to Robin Hill and making the acquaintance of Young Jolyon(who also looks like he never aged a day). Fleur Forsyte was an intelligent young woman who never in a million years would have pulled something so blundering. And Young Jolyon, according to Galsworthy, only met Fleur once, at an awkward tea at Robin Hill; Irene met Fleur and Jon and invited them to tea. Young Jolyon never really had anything against Fleur save she was the daughter of Soames Forsyte. It was Irene that he was most worried about; Jolyon was horrified for Irene to have her son married to the daughter of the man who once hurt her. And there was never a reconciliation between Irene and Soames at the end of To Let. Irene refused to shake hands with Soames at Robin Hill and later, in an art gallery, Soames refused Irene's offer to shake hands with him.
I was disappointed at the way the writers handled Jon and Irene's trip to Spain so Jon could "forget" Fleur. All we have are Irene dancing in a restaurant. It doesn't convey Jon's longing for Fleur and his desperately trying to shorten the vacation so he could get back to her.
Fleur and Jon never had sex during events of To Let. In a later novel, Swan Song, Fleur wishes she had trapped Jon into marriage by sleeping with him and being "compromised," but Jon and Fleur only had a one night stand many years after events of To Let took place.
I was disappointed with the age discrepancies of the characters. June Forsyte was supposed to be in her fifties. Here she looks younger than her half sister Holly (who was supposed to be born about 12 years after June). Prosper Profund was a shadowy, sinister figure; here he's played like a buffoon.
Michael Mont, a pivotal character, is never fully delineated like he was in the 1969 series. Nicholas Pennell who played Michael then did an excellent job of depicting his longing for Fleur and his patience with her.
The acting of the players was good, but they lost credibility playing the characters who didn't seem to belong to Galsworthy at all.
I hope the producers do not plan to do the Modern Comedy series; this was the weakest part of the Galsworthy saga. The best of the three novels in the trilogy was Swan Song, which concerned Fleur's reawakened passion for her cousin Jon (even though both Fleur and Jon are now married to others). The Forsyte Saga novels: The Man of Property, In Chancery, and To Let, were the best of the series. I would probably cringe at what the producers/writers do to the Modern Comedy series.
Rating:  - The BBC version is no more the original than this one!
One of the previous reviewers presents a significant factual error in their review of this production of "The Forsyte Saga." The 1960s BBC production is not by any means the "original." It wasn't even the first filming of the story (1949's "That Foryste Woman" with Errol Flynn may have that distinction). The original version is John Galsworthy's writing. Bearing that in mind, this rendition of the saga is a perfectly valid and entertaining one. Saying that the current version is forced to resort to prurient interest to attract an audience also ignores that portraying Soames' rape of his wife in the 1960s production in no small part contributed to that version's attracting an audeince. This current version deserves to be discussed on its own (not inconsiderable) merits, not turned into a whipping boy just to puff up the 1960s BBC verison, which (while it may be superior in some respects) is not quite as great as some would make it out to be. The current version has a fine cast of actors (young and experienced alike) and is done with good spirit. It's a fine entertainment, well worth a few hours of your time.
Rating:  - A DIFFERENT WORLD.
Once again I must compare the acting and directing of this new version of the Saga with the original version of 1969.ALL of the characters in the new version are miscast.Soames is portrayed as too mean and too wooden.Young Jo is too young and uncharacteristically cruel.Irene is listless and wimpy.But the most jarring note is Fleur.She is portrayed as a spoiled brat,completely selfish and incredibly manipulative.Galsworthy's Fleur was no angel,but she had qualities of brightness and kindness as well.She also realizes that she is possessive and tells Michael so soon after they are married.However,the most jarring note of this production is the production itself.Part 1 departed greatly from the books to the detriment of the story.But Part 2 exceeds even that:it flings Galsworthy's narrative to the ground and dances upon it! Examples:Young Jo would NEVER go to Fleur,whom he mistrusts,and reveal the secret of his fatal illness.Irene would never scream at Jon and have an hysterical episode.Jon is too innocent to have sex with Fleur after his father's funeral.Soames would sooner die than tell Fleur about his dishonoring Irene.And Fleur would not turn into a screaming harpy when she loses Jon.Then:Soames and Irene patching it up and he leaving Robin Hill with a smile on his face and a spring in his step?PLEASE!The story is set in 1920,a different world from our own.The world portrayed is 2002,and it just doesn't wash.The original 1969 version got a huge audience from it's faithful adaptation and inspired acting.The new 2002 version has to rely on sex and violence to attract an audience.It seems that you can never go broke underestimating the taste of today's viewing public.If you want to own an outstanding version of the Saga,buy the dvd or video set of the original 1969 version.It's still available for purchase on Amazon.
Rating: - Disappointed
This installment bears no resemblance to Galsworthy's novel. The casting of major characters is abysmal--the actors playing Irene and Jolyon in particular appear much too young even with aging makeup. Jolyon is supposed to be twelve years older than Irene and in his seventies when he dies. The actor in this adaptation looks barely forty-five. Gina McKee is totally miscast as Irene. Irene in the novel is elegant, reserved, mysterious--an incredible beauty with regal posture, dark gold hair, and deep brown eyes. McKee is thin, coltish, stoop-shouldered with prominent teeth and squinty blue eyes. It is impossible to associate her in any way with Galsworthy's Irene. The old BBC production is much more faithful. If you've read the book, this new version will be a major disappointment.
Rating:  - Better than the First!
I very much enjoyed the second installment of the Forsythe Saga. Damian Lewis is remarkable as Soames. His portrayal is just so heart-wrenching at times. The relationship between Soames and Fleur is lovely. Emma Griffiths Malin is beautiful and does justice to the name "Fleur." The returning characters from the first installment glide right back into their roles. The new characters, Jon and Michael Mont are played by excellent actors, Lee Williams and Oliver Milburn. Unlike some of the other reviewers it didn't bother me that the adaption wasn't entirely faithful to John Galsworthy's books. In fact, I found that this version resolved things between various characters better than the novel. I highly recommend the DVD to anyone who enjoys Masterpiece Theatre. I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 because the DVD has a sad lack of special features. A making-of featurette would have been nice, but all and all, it's a highly entertaining and well-acted series.
|
|