Customer Reviews

Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now (2001)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Overall this film does a good job with the novel. I do wish it had given the full ending (the novel tells what happens to Madame and Marie Melmotte, and the film doesn't). I do think the film is over-dramatised, with too much shouting and too much sex. The often loud modern background music is distracting at times, particularly when it gets into woo-woo-woo wordless female vocals.

The characters are all played very well with the exception of Marie Melmotte. The actress uses a coy, childlike female voice reminiscent of some 1920s female comic singers. Also, I think the film misinterprets Marie's character. In the book she was lonely; ignored by her stepmother, used by her father to further his ambitions regardless of her wishes--even beaten by him--and despised by society, who only valued her father's money. Marie was also naive, ready to believe Felix's avows of love because no one else made any (her other suitors are too gentlemanly to lie as extravagantly as Felix). And, none of the Melmottes were entirely conversant with the habits of upper-class British society.

However, in the film Marie is also portrayed as so (...) that she siezes every opportunity to kiss and fondle Felix, even publicly dragging him behind doors at parties and stroking his thighs in front of numerous dinner guests. This is simply not Anthony Trollope. Also, I'd expect Marie might get confused about which fork to use, but not to tear at her food like a savage.

However, I'm going to keep this film in my collection--and remember it next time I'm tempted to buy high-tech stock.

The Way We Live Now, Anthony Trollope

I delayed purchasing this DVD because I had neither read the book nor had I ever seen the movie. I finally took a chance on it. I was not disappointed. Although some of the reviews were not great, I enjoyed it very much. I know I shall watch it again from time to time. Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now (2001)

She watches all the BBC videos in Clermont-Ferrand or Limoges or wherever... I checked out her other reviews and there is a thread of a primitive feminism, strange interest in contemporary affairs expressed as "Bush Dynasty" and a pointed remark "I am reading (or watching) all this {stuff reviewed} in France. Well, friends, I have news for Mmselle Moutet : Her compatriots don't give a damn about their own heritage, yeah, they have some DVDs of Louis de Funes, Jacques Tati etal, but where are the Cayattes, Autant-Laras, Delannoys, Clouzots, huh ?? Where are the inspired and enlightened film or DVD interpretations of Zola, Nizan, Celine and countless others. Oh, yes, Mme.Bovary rules, for obvious reasons. So she will judge "The Way We Live Now" from the benighted distance of Vichy...
The closest I can come to praise the French heritage preservation is the Claude Lelouch's astounding "Les Miserables", it was a flop in France, (nobody reads Victor Hugo any more and is willing to accept an extrapolation of his novel).
The richness of Mmlle. Moutet culture is indubitable, but she fails to observe it but rather she choses to critique the Anglo-Saxon stuff. I wonder why .. This Trollop film version is as good as could be, as the requirements of a filmic interpretation are different from the original purely literary (verbal) content - and - yes, most of us read the novel at least once and can well imagine the quandaries of the transfer to an audio-visual medium. But the point is : What is bugging the French ?? You know, I am fluent in French language, and when in France, I delight in confronting all the nasty little Parisians in their very idiom. But I wouldn't go on Amazon.fr and review a vacuous piece of self professed non-fiction, which in fact is a fiction for most part. I could easily get these clues from "Neue Zuricher Zeitung", "The Economist", and even the "Christian Science Monitor" or "Der Spiegel". Trust the BBC not for their news, but for the recent renewal of their interest in the English heritage.

Trollope was a great writer. His characters were never caricatures or sterile, but fully-developed and interesting, even the most fleeting. And his plots, while not the engine to the story, moved the characters in ways worth following. While not my favorite novel, this is a fine book, with many wonderful, scintillating stories (too many really!) and a cast that makes the head dizzy with their deceptions and foolishness,

Hard stuff to film, and given the new Masterpiece Theater interest in flair over substance, it is especially challenging. The sets are amazing, the costumes gorgeous, the hair and small details all spot-on (have we ever seen a character step in manure before? though it must have been all over). Yet somehow, the thing never hangs together. People drive Trollope's tales, long, complicated speeches between those who know each other well, and when that is lost, it would require much better writing than is evidenced here to be successful.

The actors act and look well, but never inhabit their characters. Though there are many fine ones present, (other than Mrs. Hurtle and that annoying Gone With the Wind accent) they are forced to superficialize when compressing so much into so little time. It is not a disaster; the board meetings are truly wonderful, the easily manipulated greedily applauding their pickpocket, and poor Brehgert is just beautifully drawn. But Marie is just shrill, Felix is annoying, and Melmotte himself comes across as all puff and bombast. It's hard to see in this how he could maintain his illusion for so long. And the required coincidences that seem more plausible in a big book look especially cloying when removed from their camouflage. Passable, in some ways delightful, but nothing more than a tepid adaptation of a robust book.

The amazing David Suchet! I have read this novel twice, and never dreamed that anyone could fully, authentically play Melmotte, but after seeing a clip, I purchased this video. The actors are so perfectly cast, it is a delight to novel lovers and an inspiration to other filmmakers. It is a cast willing to open as wide as Trollope's vision. While admiring the spectacularly beautiful and talented Mr. Cillian Murphy, I must mention Shirley Henderson, who, next to Suchet, creates a character as difficult, wide-ranging, individual and authentic as one could imagine.

There are a few differences in the spirit of the book and the TV show: the book is satire, while the show is drama. Melmotte's decline, as written, is gradual, is more dramatic and less melodramatic than on screen, beginning with the Emperor's dinner party, which is a filmed as a truimph, but written as a disaster and the beginning of his fall.

I want to mention two important "compromises" to TV culture. I don't think these are "Spoilers", but use your judgement. First of all, Paul Montague did not sleep with Mrs. Hurtle. A man of his character would never have done such a thing. Secondly, Ruby Ruggles was not sleeping with Felix Carbury. It's very clear in the novel that she is naive and a "good girl".

Another "Spoiler"? I don't think so. I hope you'll read the novel, as in the book, many more people pair off and get married than are shown on screen.

I'm amazed at how many of the reviews here say "I've read the book twice". Not a compliment often extended to modern novels! If you can't face a read this long, rent it (unabridged!) on audio tape; it's a great experience. Trollope has created a world, and the BBC, given only four hours, has done a fantastic job in illuminating this often overlooked classic.

"Art imitates life" (I sure hope someone said that, or else it might not make sense), and good art might be able to prophetically leap from the 1870s in the 00s of the 21st century. Scarily, Anthony Trollope created a scathingly funny satire of his decade which fits life pretty well for 100+ years later. And on a more visual level, BBC Masterpiece Theater has done it again.

"The Way We Live Now" is a ridiculously funny film. It's supposed to be a bit creepy, and it is. All the money grubbing and materialism and characters who really couldn't care less about anybody but themselves. They're a nasty bunch who are tastefully repulsive, then there are the noble ones who gain our respect. But despite our feelings Trollope painted them equally delicious and intriguing, and BBC carried them to the screen with grace and ease, and as usual made the actors look perfectly comfortable in the skin of the Gilded era. Great acting is the crux of this film, except for Miranda Otto's really bad Southern Belle accent, David Suchet, Matthew MacFadyen, Shirely Henderson, Cillian Murphy, and everyone else are wonderful and really play it. Then of course great dialogue and a wicked whirl through politics and money and intrigue which in reality merely serve as a device to satirize those who think they are better than the rest of humanity because of how they live.

I didn't think I would enjoy a film about 19th century money problems which were eerily reminiscent of the current Enron scandal, but leave it to the BBC and Masterpiece to make you come back for more.

I enjoyed this movie although it wasn't one of my favourites. I thought David Suchet was amazing in the role of Mr. Melmotte. Actually I despised the character of Melmotte but that meaning Suchet did a good job of playing the role because Melmotte was not a likeable person. I thought his daughter was stupid. Surely they could have gotten a better actress for her role. First of all she was far to short (physically) nearly needing a step ladder to kiss whoever she was kissing. And that voice! Horrible. I thought McConghy did a good job of Felix Carbury. The movie was entertaining but I don't think I will be watching it again so will probably sell my set.

Good BBC serie, it is funny and the actors are very convincing. I liked it. It 's an approach on business those days and how politics played an important role in the life of people. Some good romantic stories as well.

Five stars - what a cast of characters! Wonderful sets, great acting, and an intriguing story.

First of all, I am rarely a fan of shows with British accents, etc. But this mini-series is unbelivable. It has actually changed my life. I watched this series by accident but am very proud i did. THe way the characters are portrayed I was able to see very clearly how different type of people deal with the same situation. Now after watching it I am also looking at world with many lenses.

Highly recommended.