Period Drama Challenge - A Royal Night Out, A Review

Another movie review for the Period Drama Challenge at Old-Fashioned Charm.

A Royal Night Out was not on my list for the challenge, but I have been wanting to see it since it hit movie theatres and it finally arrived at my library.

The movie is about the young Princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, and their adventures on the night of VE Day in London. This was to be their very first night ever out on their own.
Although Mummy promises they can have a night out, the Princesses find that is really just a staid outing with the lords and ladies, well guarded by two officers. So they give the officers the slip and the real night out begins.

There are some funny scenes where Princess Elizabeth, of course, has no money and no concept of how the buses work or where places are in London. She also has to use public toilets, which is a new experience!

And of course many scenes in which people speak of the royal family candidly. Lizzie is in a pub when the King's speech is broadcast, so is able to see the real people's reaction to her father.

A romantic element is introduced with the character of Jack. Lizzie meets him on a bus after being separated from Margaret and Jack spends the night reluctantly helping her find her sister.

Being the unabashed Royalist I am, I really wanted to love this movie. But it took a while to get moving for me. I only started to really enjoy it about halfway through, but by the end I loved it. Although totally and utterly unbelievable, it was still a lovely bit of royal family fun.

Casting was impeccable - all the characters were wonderful. Rupert Everett was fabulous as the King as was Emily Watson as the Queen. Understated elegant performances from both.

The two Princesses were lovely, although the plummy accents grated after a while. They looked divine - I just love everything about the 40s; the clothes, the hairstyles, the fact that everyone dressed so well.

The two officers charged with guarding the Princesses for the night were typical English officers - the stiff demeanour, the moustaches.

Princess Elizabeth's dress (on the right) was gorgeous; not so fussed on Princess Margaret's - long sleeves and fur are not for me! Not sure if this was a deliberate design choice to play her down against Elizabeth. Poor Princess Margaret - there is a scene where she introduces herself as P2, Princess Number 2. No wonder she always felt overlooked.

I loved all the scenes of the celebrations on VE night. I like to watch the interviews on DVDs and the director mentioned that they actually filmed the scenes on the 8th May, the anniversary of VE Day. So there were a lot of people already there in period costume who took part in the filming.

As to historical accuracy - well, I'm not fussed! It was just a lovely fun bit of fantasy entertainment, showing what could have possibly happened if the Princesses really had a night out. 

Obviously if you are really into accuracy, the movie would annoy you as, although it could be believable that Elizabeth may have been able to enter pubs and drink alcohol at 19 years of age, it is ludicrous to think the same of Margaret at 14. Yet in the movie, she is drinking pink gin in bawdy houses and definitely does not look 14 years old!

There is an interesting article in The Telegraph, What Happened When A Princess Went Walkabout?, that describes the actual events as related by Lord Porchester, the palace guard who actually chaperoned the Princesses on their incognito adventure that night. And he didn't give anything away! So I guess only the Queen now knows what really happened that night over 70 years ago and I can imagine she isn't telling!

Watching movies such as this does always make me wonder whether the Queen watches all these movies made about her, her father, Diana, etc. and what she thinks of them.

But if you love the era, as I do, or you love the British Royal family as I do, watch the movie for a bit of light fun and to be carried away by the sense of jubilation that existed on VE Day. I don't like crowds at all, but even I would have wanted to be at the gates of Buckingham Palace at midnight that night.

Period Drama Challenge - January Recap and Tag Questions

As I have been away (and a lovely time was had by all!), I missed the January recap and tag questions for the Period Drama Challenge at Miss Laurie's.

I completed two reviews in January - Banished and The Water Diviner. Head on over to the January recap post above to see other reviews in the Challenge.

Now for the tag questions!

1. What period dramas did you view in January?

Banished and The Water Diviner.

2. What is your favourite Charles Dickens film adaptation?

It depends on whether we are talking about movie length adaptations or series.

For a movie, I would definitely say the 1946 adaptation of Great Expectations.

For a series, I would find it difficult to decide between Little Dorrit and Bleak House.

3. Would you rather visit Pemberley or Downton Abbey? Why?

It would have to be Pemberley, simply because Pemberley, Elizabeth and Mr Darcy have been a part of my life for so many years. I have re-read P&P so many times and watched so many adaptations, whereas I have not watched very much of Downton Abbey. That being said, I do love the historical era of Downton Abbey and am sure I will love the show once I am able to view all the series.

4. If you could be any character in a Jane Austen novel for a whole day who would you be and why would you want to be that character?

I would have to say Elinor Dashwood on the day she discovers Edward is not married. I have always related to Elinor as I am a similar personality. Mariannne always just annoyed me - I felt like I wanted to slap her sometimes and tell her to just get over herself! I always admired Elinor's self-control.
I have definitely been influenced in this by the movie version. Emma Thompson plays a wonderful Elinor. The moment in the movie where Elinor finds out Edward is not married has to be one of my favourite movie moments ever. That little noise she makes and then finally the dam breaks!

5. What period dramas are you looking forward to viewing in February 2016?

I have collected Picnic at Hanging Rock and My Brilliant Career from the library. I haven't seen either of these for probably 20 years, so we will see if they live up to my memories.

Period Drama Challenge - The Water Diviner, A Review

Second review for the Period Drama Challenge with Miss Laurie at Old Fashioned Charm.

Before I get to The Water Diviner though, I would like to mention another movie I watched last night, Love and Mercy. What a fantastic movie! And I never even knew it had happened. It is about Brian Wilson, the leader of The Beach Boys, and his life in the 1980s as he is being overmedicated and controlled by his psychotherapist. It was shocking to me that this occurred.
Paul Dano was fantastic as the young Brian Wilson.

I've got a bit off-track, but I just wanted to mention this movie. And The Beach Boys 'God Only Knows' has to be my favourite song ever!

OK, back to the Period Drama!
The Water Diviner is set in Australia and Turkey in 1919, with flashbacks to the battle of Lone Pine (August 7, 1915)  when all three sons died in the same battle. Their father (Russell Crowe) is determined to travel to Turkey and use his skills as a water diviner to determine where their bodies are.

This movie will definitely make you cry, no doubt. The war scenes were harrowing and brilliantly acted. From my previous review, you will know how much I admire Ryan Corr's acting and he is simply amazing here as the older brother who cannot 'look after' his younger brothers as he promised his parents he would.

I found the whole story so interesting. It is very loosely based on a true story - apparently there was one father who travelled to Gallipoli to find his sons after the war.

I'll leave you to decide whether the ending was believable. To be honest, I'm still not sure whether I liked it or whether the movie needed it.

I wasn't particularly taken with the story of the father and the relationship he formed with a young Turkish woman. I found it slightly insulting, as though she needed rescuing by a Westerner. Does that make sense? It seemed just a bit too cliché for me.

But overall, wonderful movie. Ryan Corr, and James Fraser and Ben O'Toole, as the three brothers definitely made the movie. Worth watching, if only to remind us of the horrors of war in the hope that such atrocities can be avoided. If only humans could live in peace - I would like to think that isn't too naïve a feeling to have.

Period Drama Challenge - Banished, A Review

 

Here is my first review for the Period Drama Challenge with Miss Laurie at Old Fashioned Charm.

I am reviewing an 7 part drama series called Banished. It is set in 1788 at the first settlement of Australia.
The First Fleet consisted of approximately 1,000 convicts and 350 free men and women. After landing, they needed to establish shelter, food beyond the stores they had brought with them and some semblance of an ordered society to ensure the safety of all. Imagine Survivor but in long dresses!

I must admit to not being overly impressed with the three main characters.

Not with their acting but with the actual character portrayal. These three were convicts and much as I know that Governor Phillip was very understanding (considered lax by some of the soldiers) with the convicts, it seems that these three had the run of the place and could pretty much do what they liked. Pardoned from hangings, pardoned from beating up soldiers - the main convict character seemed to me to just be a bully - and got away with it.
I think it possibly has to do with the love of the underdog. Australians particularly seem to want to venerate the supposedly downtrodden victims at the expense of the lawmakers and keepers. Everyone wants to have a convict ancestor, not so keen on having a redcoat! It seems to have been taken too far in this series and makes the actions of the convicts and the soldiers supposedly guarding them seem unrealistic, although I guess as the soldiers were outnumbered by convicts 3:1, they would be careful about provoking them. And it was noted by Governor Phillip that the soldiers were often 'reluctant' to undertake their duties.

Of much more interest to me in this series were the secondary stories - the fact that the blacksmith was a 'protected' convict as his role was so vital to the fledgling colony; the back story of the 'use' of women convicts by the soldiers and the ballot system that existed (and was sanctioned by Governor Phillip) to share them among the soldiers; the Reverend and his wife.

I must admit though to thinking that, for a colony that was at starvation point and down to very strict rations, everyone seemed very well-fed and very clean!

A highlight of the series for me was David Wenham's portrayal of Governor Arthur Phillip. Fabulous actor - the TV series Seachange is one of my all time favourites.

Phillip had an enormous task ahead of him when he arrived in Australia, particularly as the new penal colony was largely abandoned by the mother country of England and left to struggle on by itself. Communications from England were sporadic and vague and Phillip had to assume total control of the colony. Luckily for his fellow First Fleeters, Phillip was a fair, calm and methodical leader, who saw from the beginning that Australia could be more than just a prison dumping ground.

Percival Serle wrote of Phillip in his Dictionary of Australian Biography:

Steadfast in mind, modest, without self seeking, Phillip had imagination enough to conceive what the settlement might become, and the common sense to realize what at the moment was possible and expedient. When almost everyone was complaining he never himself complained, when all feared disaster he could still hopefully go on with his work. He was sent out to found a convict settlement, he laid the foundations of a great dominion.

 Also watch out for this wonderful actor, Ryan Corr, and the story of his soldier character and the convict woman he loves. Very sad.

Ryan Corr is a fantastic actor and will appear in a later review in The Water Diviner. He also starred in a TV series I loved called Love Child (but I cannot feature it here as it is set in 1969!)

Overall, I would say Banished is worth watching, but it just did not seem wholly believable to me.

 

Period Drama Challenge

What fun! A new challenge, hosted by Miss Laurie at Old Fashioned Charm. As I adore watching period drama, I just had to join in with the challenge!

I have chosen to a Period Film Fanatic, which means I will watch and review 12 to 15 period dramas during the above time frame. Just between you and me, I would probably watch that many anyway!

From Miss Laurie, here are the requirements:

What Makes A Period Drama?A television costume drama, big screen film or TV series set in a historical era. They could be adaptations of classic novels, based upon historically set books, stories of historical events or even biographical flicks. For what eras are eligible I'd say anything from Ancient times up to the 1940's (like World War II). Also eligible are films that travel back in time or start in one era and moves to another (such as Lost In Austen, From Time To Time, Somewhere In Time or The Love Letter).

Here's a list of historical eras to help you out:

• The Ancient Era (Biblical times, 4000 B.C.-476 A.D.) 
• The Medieval Era (476-1450) 
• The Renaissance Era (1450-1600) & Elizabethan Era (1558-1603) 
• The Baroque Era (1600-1750) 
• The Georgian/Colonial Era  (1714-1811) 
• The Regency Era (1812-1830, also known as the Jane Austen era) 
• The Victorian Era (1837-1901) 
• The Edwardian Era (1901-1919. and World War I)
• The 1920's 
• The 1930's
• The 1940's (World War II films)

Now, what will I choose?! I am thinking that I may focus on Australian made movies, as this may bring some different choices into the challenge. So far I have about 40 on my list, so need to narrow it down a bit! Can you tell I prefer period to modern movies and series?!

So far I have:

Picnic At Hanging Rock - filmed in 1975, set in 1900.

My Brilliant Career - filmed in 1979, set in 1897.

The Piano - filmed in 1993, set in 1851.

Oscar and Lucinda - filmed in 1997, set in mid 1800s.

Rabbit Proof Fence - filmed in 2002, set in 1931.

Phar Lap - filmed in 1983, set in late 1920s/early 1930s.

The Lighthorsemen - filmed in 1987, set in 1917.

Gallipoli - filmed in 1981, set in 1915.

Ned Kelly - filmed in 2003, set in 1870s.

Against The Wind - filmed in 1978, set between 1798-1812.

Banished - filmed in 2015, set in 1788.

All The Rivers Run - filmed in 1983, set in 1890s.

The Water Diviner - filmed in 2014, set in 1919.

The Battlers- filmed in 1994, set in  the Great Depression.

The Sullivans - filmed between 1976 and 1983, set from 1939-1945.

Changi - filmed in 2001, set in 1999 and 1942-45.

Well, that is sixteen choices already, just in the Australian list. And I have more to choose from - and that doesn't include heaps of others that I would like to review as well! Like The King's Speech, A Royal Night Out, The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill and Came Down a Mountain, Miss Potter, Girl With A Pearl Earring and on and on!

I will plan on posting a review on Saturdays (maybe not every week!) and will start this Saturday with a review of Banished as I just collected it from the library.

I am not sure if I will be able to get hold of all these titles - some of them may be a bit obscure now - but I will try my best.

I cannot wait to see what everyone else decides to watch and review.