Jamie passion and passionfruit!

For those of us who remembered the lavish TV adaptation of the early 80’s that made a name for Jeremy Irons and even featured Sir Laurence Olivier if I remember well, this squeezed in film version had a lot to live up to.  It does in part and yet lacks some of the rich detail of the former.  We tend here to get rather less subtle doses of the Catholic guilt and mores of the original, and less characterisation of most of the roles.  What matters a lot here are the actors.  Emma Thompson dominates her scenes as Lady Marchment and does a very good job.  Michael Gambon is less impressive as the ailing lord of the manor   Of the younger crew I found Matthew Goode acceptable as Ryder, if rather wet, Ben Whishaw very good as Sebastian Flyte, though quite a lot less charming than Antony Andrews’ version. Hayley Atwill as Julia is OK but lacks something in stature.

Overall, a solid, watchable and interesting movie without bringing the house down.

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