The Hollow Crown preview!

I feel like I've been waiting for this to air in the States for FOREVER.

The films – chronicling a bloody tale of family, politics and power — tell the rise and fall of three Kings and how their destiny shaped English history. Richard II (Ben Whishaw) is a vain, self-indulgent man who rules with little regard for his people’s welfare. He is ultimately overthrown by his cousin Bolingbroke (Rory Kinnear), who ascends the throne as Henry IV (Jeremy Irons). Henry IV’s reign is marred by his own guilt over Richard’s death, civil war, and the gnawing fear that his son Hal (Tom Hiddleston) is a total wastrel unworthy of the throne. When Hal comes to the throne as Henry V he is left to bury the ghosts of his father’s past while fighting both the French forces as well as his own inner demons.

Directed by Rupert Goold (Richard II), Richard Eyre (Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2) and Thea Sharrock (Henry V), The Hollow Crown features some of the most pre-eminent Shakespearean actors of our time. The Kings are played by Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons and Tom Hiddleston respectively, supported by a phenomenal cast including Rory Kinnear, Patrick Stewart, David Suchet, David Morrissey in Richard II,Simon Russell Beale, Michelle Dockery, Julie Walters and Maxine Peake in Henry IV and John Hurt, Anton Lesser and Paterson Joseph in Henry V. 

Watch The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare's History Plays Preview on PBS. See more from Great Performances.

The clip at about the 1:10 mark, where Tom Hiddleston as Henry V gives the Saint Crispin's Day speech...people, I GET CHILLS. And TEARS. If this preview is turning me into that much of a mess I may never survive watching the entire play.

The plays begin September 20th, also know as Ruth's Birthday EVE, so I will go ahead and thank PBS for basically the best birthday present of all time. :)

Miss Marple: They Do It With Mirrors

Miss Marple and PBS's run of six Agatha Christie adaptations concluded this Sunday on Masterpiece Mystery, and due to a variety of reasons I am once again, way behind in blogging. :P They Do It With Mirrors was the third entry in this series, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here's the story summary from the PBS website:

Glamorous Ruth Van Rydock (Joan Collins) is convinced her sister Carrie Louise is in danger, and confesses her suspicion to Miss Marple over tea. Carrie Louise, a quirky philanthropist with a string of ex-husbands, runs a correctional facility for young men on her estate. Miss Marple arrives to make some gentle inquiries and finds chilling danger lurking surprisingly close to home. When murder is the real-life plot twist during an amateur theater rehearsal on the estate, Miss Marple has to separate theatrical tricks from reality in an attempt to save Carrie Louise from the dire final act that awaits her.

Of the three episodes shown so far in this series, this one is by far the best showcase for Julia McKenzie's take on the role of Miss Marple. She's prominently featured throughout the film, and it's this performance that's finally, fully won me over into the ranks of McKenzie-Marple fans. Here McKenzie manages to be sharp and intuitive all while coming across as extremely warm and personable. Very well done. :)

The "stunt" casting is pretty spectacular for one hour and a half program. Let's start with the Rydock sisters, the flashy Ruth (Joan Collins) and the shy, universally loved Carrie Louise (Penelope Wilton). I haven't finished reading the novel yet (which is an actual Marple story BTW), but I can tell you that Joan Collins was pitch-perfect casting for the role of Ruth. It's uncanny. Penelope Wilton is a veteran of several of my favorite British programs and films. She played Mrs. Hamley in Wives and Daughters (a role quite similar to Carrie Louise), Mrs. Gardiner in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice, and Harriet Jones, former British Prime Minister, in Doctor Who. Carrie's husband is played by Brian Cox, most recently seen in the FREAKING FANTASTIC series Kings as Silas's prisoner, King Vesper. I will have to do a write up on that show when the DVDs come out in September - it was a wonderful drama that really deserved a second season renewal (if renewals were based on quality merits anyway).

Carrie's daughters are played by Emma Griffiths Malin (Gina), who starred opposite JJ Feild in the Poirot mystery Death On the Nile, and Sarah Smart (Mildred), who was also a Poirot alum. She appeared in the mess that was Mrs. McGinty's Dead a few weeks ago, as well as the AMAZING Wallander, where she played Anne-Britt Hoglund, a member of Wallander's team. To round out the household we have Tom Payne appearing as Edgar Lawson - he was also seen in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day as the producer Phil Goldman and the most recent version of Wuthering Heights as Heathcliff's son Linton. Maxine Peake plays Jolly Bellever, Carrie's friend and housekeeper, and also a Little Dorrit alum. It was so very, very weird seeing her play a "good" character after she made such an impression as the wicked Miss Wade. Oh - thought not a member of the household, I have to mention Alex Jennings's portrayal of Inspector Curry. So far from my reading of the book he's nailed the character. Jennings may look familiar to fans of Cranford, where he played the Reverend Hutton.

My favorite bit of casting deserves its own paragraph. :) Elliot Cowan plays Gina's husband Wally, and AMERICAN, and I have to say this Brit pulls off the role of former American G.I. quite well. I absolutely fell in love with Cowan when I saw Lost in Austen, where he put his own unique stamp on the role of Mr. Darcy (the man broods quite nicely, just have to point that out). Cowan's also appeared in episodes of Foyle's War, Poirot, and the first (and best) Sally Lockhart mystery, The Ruby in the Smoke. The man's got a rather uncanny ability for disappearing in roles, all the more unique I think because he's really got rather striking features IMO. I had to do a double take when he first appeared on-screen (thank goodness for pausing & rewinding live TV, HA!), because it was so hard to wrap my head around his appearance as a blonde American. Love, loved the fact that he got a great kissing scene at the end of this episode. :)

This film is a great example of the Marple series at its best, and an excellent showcase of all the reasons I love the program - great cozy mystery feel and TONS of wonderful guest stars. The story takes a bit of attention to follow - it's one of Christie's more convoluted plots IMO. I think it's a bit easier to keep track of how everyone is related to everyone else in the novel - a bit hard to follow on-screen, especially since some roles are compressed or omitted for the sake of time. My review of the book and the book vs. film comparison will follow shortly!

Little Dorrit, Part Three

If you’re wary of spoilers, stop here.

Click to read my reviews of part one and part two of Little Dorrit if you need to catch up on the action from the last two weeks. Here’s the brief summary of episode three from the Masterpiece Classic website:

The villainous Rigaud (under an assumed name), begins an extortion scheme against Mrs. Clennam. Pancks uncovers information that dramatically alters the future for the Dorrits. Now able to move beyond his shameful past, Mr. Dorrit enlists the help of Mrs. General to instruct his daughters in etiquette. Disquieted by all the sudden changes, Amy continues her connection with Arthur through letters, and forges a closer relationship with Pet Meagles.

As I mentioned in part two’s review, I missed Mrs. Clennam’s (Judy Parfitt) cold presence and I couldn’t wait to see her interact with the murderous Rigaud (Andy Serkis). Happily, episode three starts off by gratifying both desires right away. Rigaud’s introduction to the House of Clennam was actually pretty funny. Poor Affery (Sue Johnston) may be constantly beaten down, but she’s still smart enough to recognize that Rigaud is not to be trusted. Her reaction to Rigaud climbing into the house, monkey-style, was priceless. All of Rigaud’s screentime in this episode really served to once again drive home Andy Serkis’s incredible versatility as an actor. Where Rigaud was just inexplicably creepy before, now Serkis layers on some darkly comic overtones to his presentation of the character (seen when he latches on to the Gowans), which make the murderous Frenchman seem even more threatening (and who thought that was possible?!).

Mr. Pancks (Eddie Marsan) continues to provide some welcome moments of comic relief. His joy over his success in discovering Mr. Dorrit’s lost inheritance is genuine and heartfelt. I also appreciated the dichotomy between the joy and fulfillment he finds in detective work versus his “day job” as a rent collector for the slumlord Mr. Casby. Pancks is definitely one of the “good guys” who’s stuck in the difficult situation of working for an unscrupulous landlord – perhaps this explains, at least in part, his happiness in being able to help someone who has been wronged by the system like Amy Dorrit. And Amy returns the favor by passing on her new-found blessings. In Amy, Dickens gives us a character proving that riches don’t make a lady – instead, in the right hands, wealth merely enhances a person’s character, as it does in Amy’s case when she shuns opportunities for self-aggrandizement and helps deserving friends like the Plornishes instead.

Speaking of the Dorrits, I am so over Mr. Dorrit by now. After his mini-meltdown last week, I was willing to give him the benefit of a doubt and cut him some slack. Last week, Tom Courtenay did an excellent job of portraying the cost imprisonment in the Marshalsea inflicted on William Dorrit’s mental and physical health. However, there’s a point where people need to take responsibility for themselves and not act like complete jerks when their fortunes change. After Arthur – out of the goodness of his heart, for pete’s sake! – takes it upon himself to “adopt” the Dorrits, investigate their situation, and show the family multiple kindnesses, he’s unceremoniously kicked to the curb as soon as Mr. Dorrit learns of his pending inheritance. It was positively painful to watch poor Arthur get treated like crap by the pretentious Dorrits (excluding Amy, of course, as well as her uncle Frederick), when they owe their good fortune entirely to the fact that he took the initiative to investigate their history! The behavior of Mr. Dorrit, his son Tip, and daughter Fanny is just plain awful – extraordinarily distasteful and selfish. I’m so over the whole lot of them!

This brings me to one of my favorite subjects to discuss…the character of Arthur, and by extension Matthew Macfadyen’s mad acting skills. LOL! Now that Arthur has no hope of marrying Pet Meagles (Georgia King) since she became engaged to artist Henry Gowan (Alex Wyndham), he’s left to nurse crushed hopes and, wonder of wonders, loosen up a bit and start to show some genuine appreciation for Amy and her constant friendship (when he carries her out to the coach after she faints – wowzers, that moment was fantastic!). One of the things I loved about Macfadyen’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice 2005 was how he became a completely different person when he smiled – the storm clouds broke and the sunlight shone through. Arthur’s flashes of happiness had the same effect on me during last night’s episode – only perhaps they were a bit more poignant, because Arthur is really a criminally under-appreciated guy, and with his family background he clearly wasn’t given much to smile about. Watching Arthur journey from a place of emptiness and un-fulfillment into increased confidence, joy, and self-worth has been a rewarding experience thus far. He’s an easy character to cheer for – he’s not entirely a doormat, and he’s not a perfect, heroic ideal. He’s an everyday guy who’s taken more than his share of knocks who has this unshakeable desire to do the right thing, and be a decent human being, that makes him wonderfully relatable.

Once the Dorrits are freed from Marshalsea Prison, Mr. Dorrit engages Mrs. General (Pam Ferris) to prepare his children to take their “rightful” place in society. It was a real treat to see Pam Ferris in this role (you may recognize her as Aunt Marge from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban or as the sinister Grace Poole from Jane Eyre 2006). She’s hilarious being all fussy and proper and mercenary, all at the same time. Mrs. General encourages Mr. Dorrit to take his family on a “grand tour” of Europe – and while abroad the Dorrits meet the Gowans. Here is where the Rigaud mystery gets even murkier – Rigaud knows the seriously whacked-out Miss Wade (Maxine Peake), a.k.a. the corrupter of Tattycoram. She sent him after the Gowans, encouraging him to ingratiate himself with the easily swayed Henry, and to take advantage, if he can, of any encounter with Amy Dorrit. Some of the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Perhaps Rigaud’s targeting of Mrs. Clennam isn’t a mere “lucky chance” - I think there’ s a history that’s yet to be revealed, involving more players than I’d ever dreamed (i.e. Miss Wade).

One of my favorite aspects of episode three was how Amy & Arthur’s relationship developed through letters during the latter half of this episode. There’s something so incredibly romantic about a relationship forged through the written word, isn’t there? There’s a couple of things going on here, but perhaps the most important being Amy’s subtle defiance of her father by refusing to disown Arthur. Amy is blossoming into a true lady, developing a backbone, and proving again and again that she’s the most genuine, honorable member of her rag-tag family. She even shows admirable compassion towards her rival for Arthur's affections, Pet. Claire Foy adds depth to her portrayal of Amy with each succeeding episode. Primarily she has achieved the delicate feat of being a perfectly sweet heroine who’s not annoying - and that is quite a feat in my book. LOL!

Needless to say, I cannot WAIT for part four this coming Sunday!

If you need to catch up on episodes of Little Dorrit, you can watch online at the PBS website.