Forsyte Saga Sags

I have to confess, I’m very disappointed in you for your recommendation of The Forsyte Saga — Jessica and I watched not only the first, but the second miniseries as well, and were dismayed to find, rather than a stirring tale of Victorian superheroics, a stirring tale of Victorian family dynamics. The production was nothing more than a series of missed opportunities. For instance, we meet the deliciously villainous Soames Forsyte, and eagerly anticipate his disfigurement (hopefully from a boiling lava pit) and subsequent adoption of an iron mask of some sort, but instead are treated to nothing more than a brilliantly restrained performance of facial twitches and barely repressed longing and self-loathing. And what of Irene? When brutalized by Soames, how could she not suddenly manifest amazing psychokinetic powers, and fling him across the room or make his head explode? Witnessing her quiet dignity in the face of such adversity was small compensation indeed for forgoing such an obvious and welcome plot point. Most cruel was the casting of Ioan Gruffud (Mr. Fantastic himself!) as a dashing young architect, who not once displayed the amazing powers of elasticity for which he is famous (making his death all the more incredible, I might add, as the audience is fully aware of the fact that he could’ve easily stretched his way out of danger!) All in all, a superb Victorian drama, but a really disappointing superhero epic.

(By the way, I’m starting the new semester tomorrow, so not sure how this will affect the frequency of my posts. I’m still working on my Captain America Master’s thesis)

~ by bneville on September 1, 2008.