Sap & Sensibility

Yes, I have always had a sappy side, and I’m a total sucker for those British costume dramas they show on Masterpiece Theater. I tend to prefer the Jane Austen variety (which end in marriage) to the weepy melodramas (Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Mill on the Floss, etc.), which end in death. I think most middle-aged women with a romantic streak would agree that the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice is, well, a masterpiece. I could probably watch it once a month and not get sick of it. But I restrain myself and check it out once a year. The ever lovin’ generally does not participate in these periodic schmaltz-fests with me, but whenever he does, I swear he usually winds up misty-eyed at some point.

Anyway, was recently perusing the library’s selection of PBS releases and came across a copy of a 2007 production of A Room with a View. The screenwriter is Andrew Davies who wrote the aforementioned brilliant P&P. But I was hesitant to check it out. You have to be brave, in my opinion, to take this one on since the Merchant Ivory version from the 80s comes so close to perfection...

Anyway, I enjoyed it (mostly). The female lead was great. George was a little squirrely…but maybe that’s more true to life, right? Really, few people were hotter than Julian Sands in that wasteland of a decade. But wasn’t he just a little too pretty for a railroad clerk? But the main thing was I just couldn’t handle that Davies kills George at the end. WTF? I admit, I haven’t read the Forster, but I know it has a happy ending. Oh, and I found that I kept waiting for the Puccini (which, of course, never came).

This production also implied strongly that both Cecil Vyse and Mr. Beebe are gay. Totally fits, but either it wasn’t there or I totally missed it in the Merchant Ivory. I’d have to go back to the literary source for that one (maybe after I finish War & Peace). Next up on DVD: Little Dorrit (also written for TV by Davies). I am generally an avowed Dickens hater (the only two books I used Cliff Notes for in my entire hs and college careers were A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations) but Davies worked wonders with Bleak House so we’re gonna give this one a shot. I think I can even get big daddy to sit through it…