North & South

...in my review of the North and South DVD, I'd not read the book of North and South before watching this adaptation on TV. Having watched it I then went straight out and read the book. I'm quite pleased I did it this way, as I think if I had read and loved the book beforehand, I might have been disappointed with some of the changes.

That certainly is not to say that the changes are bad (Margaret and John's final meeting takes place at ...
...just a bit different.

PLOT

Daniela Denby-Ashe stars as Margaret Hale the daughter of a New Forest country parson who has been living with her aunt in until, until she turns eighteen and returns to her father's vicarage. She is surprised to receive a marriage proposal from henry Lennox, a close family friend, and declines him. This comes on the same day as her father (Tim Pigott-Smith) informs Margaret and her mother ... more

As I said in my review of the North and South DVD, I'd not read the book of North and South before watching this adaptation on TV. Having watched it I then went straight out and read the book. I'm quite pleased I did it this way, as I think if I had read and loved the book beforehand, I might have been disappointed with some of the changes.

That certainly is not to say that the changes are bad (Margaret and John's final meeting takes place at a train station and not in London for instance), but just a bit different.

PLOT

Daniela Denby-Ashe stars as Margaret Hale the daughter of a New Forest country parson who has been living with her aunt in until, until she turns eighteen and returns to her father's vicarage. She is surprised to receive a marriage proposal from henry Lennox, a close family friend, and declines him. This comes on the same day as her father (Tim Pigott-Smith) informs Margaret and her mother (Lesley Manville) that he has decided to leave the church and make a living as a tutor in the northern town of Milton (a poorly disguised Manchester).

Her already frail mother takes the news badly, so the task of finding lodgings falls to Margaret and her father. Their task is made easier by the assistance of a local cotton mill owner, Mr John Thornton (Richard Armitage) who has engaged Mr Hale to tutor him in the writings of the Greek philosophers.

When Margaret and Mr Thornton meet, they agree that their love of their respective homes and their difference in views are at odds and each takes an instant dislike to the other.

Soft-hearted Margaret befriends a mill worker, Bessie Higgins (Anna Maxwell-Martin) who is dying of consumption and her father Nicholas (Brendan Coyle) and she is distressed to find that there is talk of a strike in the mills. When the strike goes ahead, margaret is caught up in a riot when she tries to protect Mr Thornton - he mistakes this as a sign that she has feelings for him and Margaret is forced to turn down his proposal of marriage.

In the meantime, Margaret's mother has become more and more ill, and just before she dies she begs to see her som Frederick who has been exiled after an alleged mutiny several years before. Margaret writes to him and her risks hanging to visit his family before their mother dies.

As time goes on Margaret and Mr Thornton cross paths on many occasions as Mr Thornton's fortunes take a turn for the worse and Margaret's (after the death of her father) take a turn for the better. Margaret returns to her aunt's family in London, until she hears that Mr Thornton has been forced to close his mill and is bankrupt. She forms a plan to help him return to business, but is unsure of her motives. Is this simply a business deal or does she have another reason to help this man?

OPINION

I loved this programme and waited patiently for six months for the DVD release, buying it on the first day of release and watching it straight away.

The story has been described as 'Pride and Prejudice with a social conscience' and that does strike true somewhat - the initial meeting of the main characters in on a misunderstanding and is one of instant dislike, and is very reminiscent of Lizzie and Darcy's first meeting. The resemblance after that seems to be a little more blurry and the ending where Margaret offers a bankrupt Thornton a lifeline is a total and satisfying role reversal.

The performances by the leads (Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe) are excellent. Denby-Ashe imbues Margaret with a steely iron will and a quick and fierce temperament, while Armitage portrays both Thornton's gruff 'Master' side and his softer, anguished side with assurance.

The supporting cast (Tim Pigott-Smith, Lesley Manville, Pauline Quirke, Sinead Cusack) are all excellent in their roles, although Lesley Manville does provide a rather hammy turn as Margaret's dying mother. Sinead Cusack is believable as Thornton's mother as she portrays a similar gruff manner to her on-screen son.

The show itself is nicely decorated, with a real industrial/victorian feel to it, the costumes and props are in keeping with what we imagine the age to be like and the sets and location are excellently thought out (for the mill scenes the production travelled to Keighley, West Yorkshire to use real 19th Century cotton mills).

The production is sumptuously scored by Martin Phipps and, unfortunately, this is not yet avaiable as a CD.

Definitely a recommendation from me on this one and a recommendation to see the DVD, which is available from £14.99 from a variety of retailers. 

...less