Berkeley Square
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Movie Reviews of Berkeley Square
Movie Review: ATTENTION, BBC...PLEASE CONTINUE THIS SERIES!
Summary: 5 Stars
What a great series! I had never before seen it on television and, loving period pieces as I do, decided to make the purchase. It was worth every penny! My sister, who also loves period pieces, came over. Together, we hunkered down and proceeded to watch the entire series in one sitting, all eight and a half hours of it. We were positively riveted to the screen, so engrossing and well acted is the series.The series centers around three young women, Mattie, Lydia, and Hannah, brought by fate to posh Berkley Square in turn of the twentieth century London. All three work in households where they are employed as nannies. All three meet and become fast friends.
Mattie is a an experienced nanny, who was brought up in the tough East End of London and, consequently, is firmly capable of holding her own. She works for a family that is on the unpleasant side with two children, a boy and a girl. The boy is a positive little beast, and the household is run by a crafty and cunning housekeeper. Mattie's benign and pleasant, baby faced countenance, however, belies a will of iron. She most certainly can take care of herself and hold her own with this motley crew.
Lydia, the fresh faced and naive country girl, works for a wonderful family, as assistant to a nanny who is like an old family retainer. She watches over the baby, the first child of her employer's second wife, who is an American with modern, egalitarian views. The only blight on her existence, is the grown, handsome son from her employer's first marriage.
Hannah has a more unusual history, as she is an unwed mother. She worked as a lady's maid for one of Yorkshire's first families. A love affair with her employer's handsome, only son leads to the birth of their illegitimate son. When her child's father unexpectedly dies, she and her child are forced to flee Yorkshire. She ends up in London, where a chance meeting with Lydia finds her accepting employment in a household in Berkley square, working with the nanny from hell.
The series revolves around their experiences and that of the families for whom they work. Over time, the threads of their lives are woven in such a way that they make for an intriguing tapestry of events. Very well acted, with engaging performances by all, and first rate production values, this is a series well worth having in one's collection and is recommended to all who love a well made, period piece.
Movie Review: delightful high-class soap opera!
Summary: 5 Stars
For those who like long stories, plenty of characters, and human entanglements galore, this one's for you. Three young women from quite different backgrounds go into service as Nannies to three upper-crust households in exclusive, respectable Berkeley Square. How will they manage? those who like BBC-style period drama will be glued to the screen as we find out.As upstairs staff and caretakers of the offspring, our girls are in the midst of the family and, of course, ideally placed to observe the family dramas... infidelity, marital discord, and of course the "goings on" among the servants. This miniseries harks back to the best of the "women's films" of the 30's, with strong, appealing female leads who struggle with all the traditional female burdens: a rigid class hierarchy, Edwardian morality, harsh and unjust employers, and their troublesome, love-hungry charges.
We've got everything here: illegitimate children, forged references, baby-swapping, baby-farming, handsome but none-too-bright young man in trouble with the Law, Dickensian old women with terrifying personalities, dashing young Guardsman angling for wealthy marriage, children made to recite the colours of vanished Regiments before they are given a present, cuckolded husband trying pathetically to keep up appearances, frigidly vicious Society grandes dames, poor little rich boy terrorized by nasty governess, horrid young ne'er-do-well trying to molest the help -- In a word, it's lavishly "dishy" and great fun as our heroines cope with one crisis after another.
Period setting and costume seems very consistent and well mounted, and the interiors are delightful (with appropriate soundstage too, a point on which British TV drama used to be a bit weak). The young actresses are a treat -- nicely cast, charming, true to type, and quite individual -- and the supporting cast is a pleasure. Some of the minor roles are so well played as to steal all their scenes ("Mrs B" comes to mind), and if a couple of the characters seem a bit wooden -- well, it is Edwardian, don't you know :-)
This is a wonderful boxed set with which to regale yourself and the family (if the children are not too young) on a series of chilly winter nights. A hot cuppa, a blanket to cuddle under, and the riveting adventures of Our Heroines -- fine, simple, old-fashioned story-telling fun!
Movie Review: Superb in all regards; with a minor complaint
Summary: 5 Stars
I like British films and miniseries quite a lot. I'm very attracted to the Jane Austen-type of films (I've seen all of those films multiple times). Berkeley Square is set a century later than Austen, but it shares some of the same elements; women making decisions about who they marry based on love rather than on station in life (mainly), rocky romances and caddish men, and the disadvantage the serving class was to the upper class. It also highlights the sometimes difficult relationships that evolve between the 'upstairs and downstairs'.
The production values of this 500-minute miniseries is simply excellent. (Though I've seen the outside of the row houses on the putative Berkeley Square before; perhaps in 'House of Elliot' and at least one version of 'Persuasion'.) The use of film rather than videotape makes for sumptuous colors and the richness of the settings. (In contrast, many British television series of the time used videotape exclusively, or shot outdoors on film and indoors on videotape. See 'The Duchess of Duke Street' for an excellent example of this.)
The acting is excellent as well. The three main girls playing the nannies were just so good. One could identify with all of them, perhaps a bit less so with Victoria Smurfit's character, Hannah, who makes one unbelievable choice in the series, involving her child and one of her charges who has taken a turn for the worse. It just was unbelievable, and would only happen on television, IMO.
I, too, would have liked the series to continue, but I strongly differ with those reviewers here who said the series wasn't tied up at the conclusion of the 10 episodes. Not true! Mrs. Bronowski's fate was revealed, Ned Jones had his adventures outlined, and even nanny Simmons showed up in the last episode.
As for family viewing, I agree that it probably isn't the best fare for a Christian family to watch, though the themes would be OK for a mid-teen to late-teen person to watch.
All-in-all, simply excellent. Highly recommended. Four and one-half stars for 'Berkeley Square'.
Movie Review: Absorbing period drama, marred only by the lack of a sequel
Summary: 5 Stars
I had actually watched this excellent Victorian period drama a couple of years ago and only recently re-watched it and it is still as riveting as I remembered it. This BBC drama revolves around the joys and tribulations [more of the latter] of three young nannies in an upper-class neighborhood in London.
Lydia Weston [Tabitha Wady] is a young and hardworking poor farm girl [with lots of siblings] from Devon who is recommended for a position in the household of the Earl and Countess Lamson-Scribener. She is hired because the the Countess doubts the old nanny's abilities to take care of her infant son. Hannah Randall [Victoria Smurfit] is a young girl from Ireland who is forced to flee with her infant son after the locals banish her [due to the illegitimacy of her son]. She is hired by the Hutchinson's but is forced to conceal her real circumstances as an unwed mother, leaving him under the care of her landlady. Finally, Matty Wickham [Clare Wilkie] is hired as head Nanny in the St John household. Matty stands for no nonsense and this causes conflicts between her and the other employees of the household. The three girls eventually meet and form a strong bond with each other, sharing in their privations and being a source of comfort to each other.
There are altogether 10 excellent episodes. Unfortunately, the series ends abruptly and there has been no sequel made. At the end of the tenth episode, a number of issues remain unresolved and lots of questions unanswered. I have tried looking up info for this series and found no indication of a sequel made or in the process of being made. Very disappointing considering the excellent cast and wonderful attention to period details. The compelling plot and intricate story lines make this a very addictive show and at the end of the final episode, viewers will be left clamoring for more. I'd still recommend this as a must-watch for those who love period dramas and Anglophiles.
Movie Review: "I love you, and that's scary."
Summary: 5 Stars
Huge BBC nut that I am, I have to say "Berkeley Square" ranks among my top five all-time faves for period dramas. It's so good, in fact, that my normally BBC-hating family took to chanting "NAN-nies! NAN-nies!" as soon as I would come home from work.
The "Berkeley Square" of the title refers to a posh London address where our story unfolds. We quickly (the series is only a ten-parter, after all) get to know three young women: Mattie, just made head-nanny for three, Hannah, single mother desperate for a job, and Lydia, innocent country bumpkin about to get a crash course in the nanny life. The story weaves in and out of their lives with many smaller subplots thrown in, until it makes a compelling tapestry of a time and place gone by.
For me the series was at its most interesting with Mattie, wonderfully played by Clare Wilkie. When this proper, straight-laced young woman (nicknamed "Sarge" by her brother) falls for ladies' man Ned Jones (very appealing Jason O'Mara), and he for her, the sparks fly. In time a when love was more or less forbidden for a girl in her position, loving a man wanted for murder is a double no-no.
The rest of the stories are terrific as well, and a testament to the series' greatness is that there is not a single forgettable character. Everyone, from the Jewish immigrant who helps the destitute Hannah to the Scottish coroner on the screen for a just a few moments, is given witty, articulate dialogue and a story. Many other reviewers complain of the series' shortness, and I agree it could have been tied up better, and gone on longer. But I'm giving it five stars because it's absolutely not to be missed. It won over my family, it'll win over you.
GRADE: A