Middlemarch

I finished reading Middlemarch (which I loved) and immediately began watching this miniseries, which had been recommended to me. I'm very particular about screen adaptations of my beloved books and I'm pleased to say that this one delivered on every level. Not an easy thing to do for a story that's over 800 pages, but the characters are well-rendered and the adaptation hits all the right notes. (Side note: why is there a non-existent seventh episode listed with a completely fabricated description of events that someone apparently thinks took place after both the book and the telecast ended? Very odd.)

George Eliot's classic was brought to life by BBC's miniseries in the early '90s. Starring Juliet Aubrey, the heroine who knows what's expected of her but can't ignore her heart, this compelling story is a must-watch (or must-read) for anyone who loves the genre. Social constraints, class structures, gossip, and daring melodrama feels right at home in this time period.

My heart completely went out to Patrick Malahide, though, so as much as I enjoyed watching this six-parter, I wasn't able to root for the other fellows. Patrick was just so sorrowful! Juliet marries him and is quickly disappointed in their marital life. He's a boring and strict reverend, but she knew exactly what she was getting when she accepted his proposal. In fact, she was drawn to his intellect from the beginning and wanted to learn from him. It turns out he's rather private and doesn't want to have lengthy, intellectual discussions with her; but is that really the end of the world?

For Juliet, it is. She wants more from her marriage. She has a brain, and she wants her husband to appreciate it as much as she does. But while she enjoys friendships with both the new doctor in town, Douglas Hodge, and her husband's cousin with a bad reputation, Rufus Sewell, it's less harmless than she thinks it is. Poor Patrick is also disappointed by his wife's behavior, and he sits at home with a broken heart when she's out galivanting and embarrassing him.

There's a lot more to this miniseries, though, and you'll be entertained by all the delightful characters and plot twists. It's always interesting to see the change in a town due to a railroad station. Progress also brings undesirable elements to an otherwise happy and peaceful community, and some people resent the modernization. You'll see Robert Hardy, Jonathan Firth, Elizabeth Spriggs, Trevyn McDowell, and more familiar faces. And does the voice of George Eliot sound familiar? It's Judi Dench!

'Middlemarch' is one of my favourite novels and the serialization is one of the best that I have seen. All the actors enliven the saga of this, George Eliot's masterpiece with an impressive panache. Juliet Aubrey as Dorothea, the heroine, needs a little bit of getting used to, but she portrays the character convincingly. Rufus Sewell was made for this role He exudes all the charm, the enigma and the romance in Will's personality beautifully..so much so that you really feel for him and his love for Dorothea as you feel for them in the novel. The only thing I'd like to say as a mild warning is that read the novel before you see this adaptation because the serial is made taking that for granted. For any admirer of Eliot this serialization is a must-see. With a beautiful music score, beautiful scenery, this adaptation is sensitively made..and memorable.

I'm reading MM for about the 5th time - agreeing with whoever it was who said it's one of the really great 'grown-up' novels.

I looked up the TV movie as well (first time since it was released) and it holds up wonderfully well - mainly because it sticks to well to the text - or at least to a stripped-down version of the text. Almost all the characterization is first-rate.

The only thing that gave me pause was Patrick Malahide. A fine actor, but he struck me as both too young and too 'human' for Casaubon; in fact rather 'acting' the part of an older man and a monster of egotism. Can one imagine him writing that truly appalling letter of proposal to Dorothea? I don't think so.

Andrew Davies has had a very good career adapting classic novs for TV, on the back of the BBC's classic 1995 Pride and Prejudice. But Austen's book was already written almost like a film script - all he had to do was copy out the words. He tried the same trick slightly earlier in this version of perhaps the greatest English novel, but it doesn't work nearly so well.

The book depends so much on the author telling us about the characters' inner lives - something which can't just be transferred wholesale to a narrator. It seems simple but is actually almost as difficult to adapt as things like Ulysses or The Steppenwolf, and this version no more than scratches the surface. I suspect it must seem dull to those who don't know the book, certainly it didn't make anything like the splash of P&P. It must be a bit embarrassing to put on such a lavish production and get only one BAFTA nomination, for the music.

The cast is good and two in particular are perfect: Patrick Malahide as Casaubon and Rufus Sewell in his breakthrough role as Ladislaw - he has never suited any other part quite so well. Juliet Aubrey, sadly, comes nowhere near doing justice to Dorothea, one of the most attractive heroines in literature; she has the earnestness but not the luminousness.

It was originally a BBC production, but I gather from these reviews that Masterpiece Theater added a voiceover for the benefit of you dumb Yanks, eh? :)