One moment we talk of the colour of fruit...
Oh, You guys.
So every once in a while I go through a phase where the only thing that really relaxes me or makes me feel safe is reading classics and watching costume dramas. Some weird mental tick leftover from childhood I guess (my sister does it too). I'm having a phase right now and generally I go back to the same productions but occasionally will seek out new ones, as I did this week, and golly was I glad when I came across North and South, an adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel.
It is beautiful.
North and South is about a family who move to a northern industrial town from the idyllic countryside of the south. I have never read the novel (yet), though I have read Elizabeth Gaskell before and really enjoyed her. I'm going to the library tomorrow to get the book.
But here are a few reasons you all should watch the adaptation...
It is frigging gorgeous y'all! The production is just stunning, the lighting is just perfect, I love the set design and the shot decisions, the different filters and colours used for the north and the south, it's just supremely easy on the eye and I kind of think that that's a rare thing in costume dramas, they are a little bit lazy a lot of the time and this was just really refreshing.
DRAMA! It is so intense and dramatic but not like, melodramatic. The scenes inside the mill especially, with all the cotton flying around in the air (see above) are breathtaking. Overall it is a really interesting social piece as well as a love story (we'll get to that in a moment), and there is plenty of sadness and strife to keep you engrossed for four episodes.
ACTING! The two leads are wonderful. Daniella Denby-Ashe has been in some kind of mediocre stuff before and I had no idea she was as good as this. She has this incredibly compelling blend of timidity and sombreness, warmth and wildness, and everything she does is nuanced and interesting. I am never completely certain of what her character is thinking or feeling, and I think that shows a depth of understanding that a lot of actresses wouldn't be able to reach. And Richard Armitage is just bewilderingly good. He is of the brooding eyes and noble brow, for sure, but he is also quite brilliant. His voice is so expressive and evocative, when he is in pain, I am in pain, and his face is just a myriad of awesome things, he manages to be stern and intimidating while convincing me that he is completely in awe of and in love with Margaret Hale, there is a softness in his expression that is so entirely flooring that it actually makes my heart flutter a little bit when he does it. Seriously, some day, some man is going to look at me like this:
♥
*sigh*
So every once in a while I go through a phase where the only thing that really relaxes me or makes me feel safe is reading classics and watching costume dramas. Some weird mental tick leftover from childhood I guess (my sister does it too). I'm having a phase right now and generally I go back to the same productions but occasionally will seek out new ones, as I did this week, and golly was I glad when I came across North and South, an adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel.
It is beautiful.
North and South is about a family who move to a northern industrial town from the idyllic countryside of the south. I have never read the novel (yet), though I have read Elizabeth Gaskell before and really enjoyed her. I'm going to the library tomorrow to get the book.
But here are a few reasons you all should watch the adaptation...
It is frigging gorgeous y'all! The production is just stunning, the lighting is just perfect, I love the set design and the shot decisions, the different filters and colours used for the north and the south, it's just supremely easy on the eye and I kind of think that that's a rare thing in costume dramas, they are a little bit lazy a lot of the time and this was just really refreshing.
DRAMA! It is so intense and dramatic but not like, melodramatic. The scenes inside the mill especially, with all the cotton flying around in the air (see above) are breathtaking. Overall it is a really interesting social piece as well as a love story (we'll get to that in a moment), and there is plenty of sadness and strife to keep you engrossed for four episodes.
ACTING! The two leads are wonderful. Daniella Denby-Ashe has been in some kind of mediocre stuff before and I had no idea she was as good as this. She has this incredibly compelling blend of timidity and sombreness, warmth and wildness, and everything she does is nuanced and interesting. I am never completely certain of what her character is thinking or feeling, and I think that shows a depth of understanding that a lot of actresses wouldn't be able to reach. And Richard Armitage is just bewilderingly good. He is of the brooding eyes and noble brow, for sure, but he is also quite brilliant. His voice is so expressive and evocative, when he is in pain, I am in pain, and his face is just a myriad of awesome things, he manages to be stern and intimidating while convincing me that he is completely in awe of and in love with Margaret Hale, there is a softness in his expression that is so entirely flooring that it actually makes my heart flutter a little bit when he does it. Seriously, some day, some man is going to look at me like this:
♥
*sigh*