Have always been a big fan of period dramas and there are many classic examples of there, television adaptations and film. Also love the books of George Eliot, especially 'Middlemarch', for their richness of detail, complexity of characterisation, wonderful use of language and emotional impact amongst many other things.
'Daniel Deronda' is not quite the masterpiece that is 'Middlemarch' in book-terms, it's still a compelling read once you stick with it with a story that is beautiful and harrowing and characters that are not strictly likable initially but grow to root for. This 2002 mini-series adaptation as a stand alone and adaptation is outstanding where the only blemish is the ending, and this high quality continues in this second part.
First things first, 'Daniel Deronda' does look great, the colours have so much warmth, the photography oozes with fluidity, the costumes are evocative and beautifully tailored and the scenery and locations enough to take the breath away. The music is suitably understated with plenty of charm and also some haunting parts too.
Writing-wise, 'Daniel Deronda' is very literate and the intelligently written dialogue is adapted with real fluency and grace, capturing all the themes and contrasts(very heavy, risky ones too like good and evil, lies and deception, prejudice and self-discovery and selfishness and honesty/humility) of the book beautifully, understated and not crass.
The story is close in spirit to the book, while lengthy and taking its time to develop- necessary as there's a lot in the book, length and details wise- it is still movingly and hard-hittingly told. The characters all translate well in the adaptation, they're every bit as interesting and not distorted in personality at all. Gwen in particular is a complex character to pull off, a lot of people seem to dislike her and understandably, she does frustrate you to begin with but you do feel sorry for her by the end.
Acting along with the way the mini-series looked and was written is what makes 'Daniel Deronda' so good. In particular Hugh Bonneville who does bring some wit but essentially Grandcourt is a real evil piece of work, it's very easy to hate him but not in a pantomimic sense. Hugh Dancy characterises compassionately and gently, his moments of anguish genuinely poignant in alternative to underplayed while the contempt Daniel keeps within him is not overplayed.
As said earlier, Gwen is a difficult character to pass off credibly and Romola Garai does that and it brilliantly comes off, very deeply felt and honest without ever feeling forced. Jodhi May is affecting and beautiful and Edward Fox comes off well as the benevolent benefactor. The direction is admirably restrained, refraining from being overly-languid or overly-complicated, which either way would have spoilt the impact of the story.
Summing up, wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox
'Daniel Deronda' is not quite the masterpiece that is 'Middlemarch' in book-terms, it's still a compelling read once you stick with it with a story that is beautiful and harrowing and characters that are not strictly likable initially but grow to root for. This 2002 mini-series adaptation as a stand alone and adaptation is outstanding where the only blemish is the ending, and this high quality continues in this second part.
First things first, 'Daniel Deronda' does look great, the colours have so much warmth, the photography oozes with fluidity, the costumes are evocative and beautifully tailored and the scenery and locations enough to take the breath away. The music is suitably understated with plenty of charm and also some haunting parts too.
Writing-wise, 'Daniel Deronda' is very literate and the intelligently written dialogue is adapted with real fluency and grace, capturing all the themes and contrasts(very heavy, risky ones too like good and evil, lies and deception, prejudice and self-discovery and selfishness and honesty/humility) of the book beautifully, understated and not crass.
The story is close in spirit to the book, while lengthy and taking its time to develop- necessary as there's a lot in the book, length and details wise- it is still movingly and hard-hittingly told. The characters all translate well in the adaptation, they're every bit as interesting and not distorted in personality at all. Gwen in particular is a complex character to pull off, a lot of people seem to dislike her and understandably, she does frustrate you to begin with but you do feel sorry for her by the end.
Acting along with the way the mini-series looked and was written is what makes 'Daniel Deronda' so good. In particular Hugh Bonneville who does bring some wit but essentially Grandcourt is a real evil piece of work, it's very easy to hate him but not in a pantomimic sense. Hugh Dancy characterises compassionately and gently, his moments of anguish genuinely poignant in alternative to underplayed while the contempt Daniel keeps within him is not overplayed.
As said earlier, Gwen is a difficult character to pass off credibly and Romola Garai does that and it brilliantly comes off, very deeply felt and honest without ever feeling forced. Jodhi May is affecting and beautiful and Edward Fox comes off well as the benevolent benefactor. The direction is admirably restrained, refraining from being overly-languid or overly-complicated, which either way would have spoilt the impact of the story.
Summing up, wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox
