The Way We Live Now
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Movie Reviews of The Way We Live Now
Movie Review: Brilliant and Spot On
Summary: 5 Stars
*The Way We Live Now* is one of Trollope's most intricate and expansive novels. He touches on society at all levels with a sharper and far less kind eye than he brings to bear on either his Barchester world or his Palliser world. No one in this world is likeable, so while the book makes a compelling read, adapting it with the intense intimacy required by a good TV adaptation is a major challenge. Without the mediating genius of Trollope's language, why would anyone want to spend time with these people?
This adaptation solves this problem brilliantly. David Suchet carries the core of the story. This is no rehash of Poirot. Suchet's Melmot is a beautifully realized and complex character: his performance is all that Trollope would have wished.
Beyond that, this adaptation is faithful to both the spirit and the letter of the novel. To engage viewers in trenchant social satire that is as relevant today as it was in Trollope's time (think Enron), to shine light into the darkness of these people's lives, and to treat them with both severity and compassion is what the novel does brilliantly. And what this adaptation does brilliantly. It ranks among the best of the very best BBC adaptations of British classics, repays repeated viewings, and offers David Suchet at his very best.
Movie Review: Long awaited and worth it
Summary: 5 Stars
Having first read this novel in the 70s and re-read it many times since, I half expected to be disappointed by the TV version until I saw David Suchet as Melmotte. He is magnificent and Shirley Henderson (Bridget Jones' friend in the movie) is also wonderfully cast. Trollope painted a panaorama of Victorian society, warts and all, and the novel upset a lot of people when it was first published as people did not like reading the truth. I found the series very true to the characters in the novel, though a good deal was necessarily left out, as the book is very long. Anyone expecting only Austenesque charm from a period drama will probably be disappointed, but those who like more meat should love this. Some reviewer mentioned similarities with Enron, but in fact the Melmotte story could have been an uncannily spooky premonition of the Maxwell scandal in Britain in the 80s. The performances of David Suchet and Shirley Henderson alone make this a wonderful 'watch'.
Movie Review: Fantastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
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.Movie Review: Simply splendid.
Summary: 5 Stars
You can't go wrong with this magnificent period piece set in 1870s England. I was led into Trollope's comic masterpiece by the actor David Suchet (who plays Poirot in the excellent series of the same name) who I am following. He seems to find his way into the very best movies. In this one, he plays the rich old swindler.
Smart, passionate in turns, humorous, and thoughtful. Superb acting, and the writing is without compare--far, far better than most scripts we see today! I would even recommend this for people who don't normally like period pieces, or are not interested in history. There are such people about, aren't there?
Dig the opulent sets, the lifestyles of the rich and infamous, and the psychology of these idle, bored, lazy fools who we watch for amusement and instruction. Recommended!
Movie Review: The Best of the BBC and Trollop
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Way We Live Now" is a riveting BBC 4 part series focusing on a Bernie Madoff like character, a scoundrel who convinces naïve and greedy people to invest in a railroad scheme existing only on paper.
Anthony Trollop was best known as an observer and biographer of society's mores. The scoundrel, Augustus Melmotte, entrenches himself within the nobility and elite and wins a seat in Parliament. Everyone around him is treated ruthlessly as he amasses his fortune and spends it lavishly. His only daughter forms an obsessive passion for a some handsome womanizing, fortune-humting gambler and tries to move heaven and earth to marry him.
There are several other plotlines and the story does not drag for a single moment. One of the very best BBC series ever.