Sunday, April 01, 2007

An indulgent weekend.

Just when I had given up on TV three excellent programmes come along at once:

On Saturday Dr Who which I have always loved though Tom Baker will always be the best doctor for me.

Then later ABOUT SCHMIDT which starred Jack Nicholson. This was one of the best films I've seen for a long time. It was by turns funny, profound and in the end extremely moving without any suggestion of mawkishness. It seemed to me to be an exploration of what is meaningful in life and the answer, in the end, came from a child's simple drawing.

And finally, PERSUASION, an adaptation of the Jane Austin novel. There have been three adaptations of separate books over successive Sundays and in my opinion this was by far the most successful. Sally Hawkins, who played Anne Elliot was excellent but I also enjoyed the performance of Amanda Hale as Mary Elliot whose quirkiness came over very well. As an added bonus Lady Russell was played by Alice Krige (AKA the queen of the Borgs). The direction was magnificent (Adrian Shergold) as was the dramatisation (Simon Burke).

A highly enjoyable weekend, but very lazy.

3 Comments:

Blogger Susanna said...

loved Tom Baker! Christopher Eccolston was suprisingly really great. I wish he had stayed longer.

Mon Apr 02, 03:50:00 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Susangalique - Yes, Eccleston is a great actor - lots of gravitas...my husband saw Tom Baker in a street in London during his Dr Who hey-day. Their eyes met and my husband glanced away but Tom Baker just kept staring at him, which he found a bit unsettling. I suppose he was having revenge for what people were doing to him.

Mon Apr 02, 08:10:00 am  
Blogger Marly Youmans said...

Hi Clare--

Tom Baker also made a splendid Puddleglum. I haven't had t. v. reception in many years, though I still watch movies.

Mon Apr 02, 02:13:00 pm  

Post a Comment

Comments are subject to moderation.

<< Home