"Who do you want, Leonardo or Michaelangelo?"
Monday, 20 October 2008 18:12![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
usuallyhats
Or, one telly review and one audio review.
I've been watching Tipping the Velvet, which I've enjoyed, though with some reservations: first off, some of the sets were a bit flat, and the London at night scenes towards the end were very obviously a painting. The main complaint, and this was a problem I had with the book too, is that I found it quite hard to like Nan at times. I do feel sorry for what she's suffered, but she can come off as a bit self centred at times: the way she abandons her family for long stretches at a time, and how she doesn't even think about Gracie and Mrs Milne until she needs them, she just ditches them and it doesn't ever seem to cross her mind that they might be worried about her. When she first arrives at Flo's house, she's very clearly trying to insinuate herself into the household - pretending her lover made her miscarry was just unnecessary. She's clearly desperate, and I do sympathise, but still. Also the political stuff - this was more irritating in the books, but the way she flat-out refuses to engage with it bugs me, so that when she stands up at the rally, my reaction is not so much "yay, go Nan!" as "FINALLY." Aaaaand that turned into more of a rant than I intended it to, oops. Overall, I did really like it, it was a good adaptation. The direction was always interesting, even when it didn't quite come off - the scene where Nan is cleaning was adorable and very Amelie-esque. All the acting was very good, and there was some great chemistry between Rachael Stirling and Jodhi May, and even more so between Rachael Stirling and Keeley Hawes. The whole thing really came alive at the rehearsal montage in part one - great set of scenes. And Flo and Ralph were aces.
Dead London, wot I have just listened to onna iPlayer, was much fun. The not-Londons were well done, nicely atmospheric, and Eight and Lucie reminded me why I like their team up so much. The casual affection between them is great. There were some fab lines, such as the one in my subject line, Lucie's reaction to being asked to pass the painter - clearly she didn't read enough Arthur Ransome as a child! Overall though, I prefer the main range style of play, these ones tend to feel a bit insubstantial, mostly due to the short running time. On the other hand, these I can listen to for free, so it's swings and roundabouts really. Plus I like having the announcer tell me who the cast were, it reminds me of listening to children's stories on Radios 4 and 5 when I was little and is therefore v. comforting.
I've been watching Tipping the Velvet, which I've enjoyed, though with some reservations: first off, some of the sets were a bit flat, and the London at night scenes towards the end were very obviously a painting. The main complaint, and this was a problem I had with the book too, is that I found it quite hard to like Nan at times. I do feel sorry for what she's suffered, but she can come off as a bit self centred at times: the way she abandons her family for long stretches at a time, and how she doesn't even think about Gracie and Mrs Milne until she needs them, she just ditches them and it doesn't ever seem to cross her mind that they might be worried about her. When she first arrives at Flo's house, she's very clearly trying to insinuate herself into the household - pretending her lover made her miscarry was just unnecessary. She's clearly desperate, and I do sympathise, but still. Also the political stuff - this was more irritating in the books, but the way she flat-out refuses to engage with it bugs me, so that when she stands up at the rally, my reaction is not so much "yay, go Nan!" as "FINALLY." Aaaaand that turned into more of a rant than I intended it to, oops. Overall, I did really like it, it was a good adaptation. The direction was always interesting, even when it didn't quite come off - the scene where Nan is cleaning was adorable and very Amelie-esque. All the acting was very good, and there was some great chemistry between Rachael Stirling and Jodhi May, and even more so between Rachael Stirling and Keeley Hawes. The whole thing really came alive at the rehearsal montage in part one - great set of scenes. And Flo and Ralph were aces.
Dead London, wot I have just listened to onna iPlayer, was much fun. The not-Londons were well done, nicely atmospheric, and Eight and Lucie reminded me why I like their team up so much. The casual affection between them is great. There were some fab lines, such as the one in my subject line, Lucie's reaction to being asked to pass the painter - clearly she didn't read enough Arthur Ransome as a child! Overall though, I prefer the main range style of play, these ones tend to feel a bit insubstantial, mostly due to the short running time. On the other hand, these I can listen to for free, so it's swings and roundabouts really. Plus I like having the announcer tell me who the cast were, it reminds me of listening to children's stories on Radios 4 and 5 when I was little and is therefore v. comforting.