But that's a tad too long, I think. So I'm leaving it.
Anyways, for my Contemporary British Broadcasting class, I had to select something to watch or listen to from BBC's iPlayer, where you can stream content previously broadcast. Since I'm an absolute sucker for period pieces, I gave The Scandalous Lady W a shot.
My thoughts? I've posted the review below. But here's a tl:dr: Loved it over all, but there was too much sex. Don't show this one to the kiddos.
The assignment was to write it in the style of a British review, and I'm not sure I pulled it off, but I did the best I could.
The
Woman who Took 27 Lovers: BBC’s The
Scandalous Lady W
It took me a while
to select a film to watch from the BBC’s selection on their iPlayer, but as I
scrolled through the pages and pages of content, a picture of a woman and two
men in matching red riding outfits immediately caught my eye. The title under
the picture introduced the film as “The Scandalous Lady W.”
I shall begin by
saying that I am an absolute sucker for period pieces, so I clicked on the link
to watch it on the double. Of course, this was right when I noticed the word
“scandalous.” Oh dear, I thought. There’s going to be some sex in this, I bet.
Well, I wasn’t
wrong. There was a lot of sex. Lady W did take a lot of lovers, after all.
After a notice
explaining that the film was based on a true story, the film begins with a
flashback of the Lord Richard Worsley (Shaun Evans) sending his wife, the
titular Lady Seymour Worsley (Natalie Dormer) into exile against her will. “Why
do you complain so?” he asks her.
“I have lost
everything,” she replies in tears.
The film then
speeds into the present, where Lady Worsley is fleeing a manor at nighttime,
hand-in-hand with an unknown man, who as the sun rises on their carriage escape
is revealed to be her lover, Captain George Bisset (Aneurin Barnard). As the
morning dawns, Lord Worsley, realizing his wife isn’t in bed with him, storms
angrily into the next room, where their infant daughter, Jane, has been left
alone with a maid.
An elopement has
taken place, leaving Lord Worsley’s name in scandal. In anger, and determined
to get the woman he believes he rightfully owns back where she belongs, he vows
to take her and Captain Bisset to court, suing them for twenty thousand pounds,
which would leaving them in bankruptcy.
However, he had
underestimated the cunning and determination of his woman scorned, Lady Seymour
Worsley, who, even though she is but a woman in a world of man, is determined
to show the world the who the man she married truly is, putting all that she
has on stake in one of the most famous trials in eighteenth-century England.
Unfortunately, this forces her to reveal the secrets behind her lovers, her
life at home, and the kind of woman she is to the world, and this comes at a
great cost indeed.
Director Sheree
Folkson’s adaption of the book by Hallie Rubenhold was a marvel to watch. I was
instantly drawn to the spunk of Lady Worsley, as right from the start, she
wanted to marry for love, even if it marrying below her rank. I grew to admire
her as she dealt with the wishes that her husband forced upon her, and her
bravery to speak out in court. The acting was excellent, the dialogue wasn’t
too shabby, and I absolutely adored the setting.
A couple of objections,
though. My major one was the sex. Just because Lady Worsley had 27 lovers
doesn’t mean that the film needed to show all
of them. It was also easy to see Lady Worsley’s discomfort during each of those
awkward scenes as well. The other glaring flaw was how quickly the scenes
jumped from flashback to present and back again. I was often confused what part
of the story’s timeline that particular event had taken place. It was a little
easier to keep involved with the tale once I got used to it, but those
dastardly quick jumps drove me crazy at first.
But all in all, I
enjoyed my experience. And the best part of the whole thing was the note at the
end. When Lady Worsley married her final husband, she didn’t take his name. He
took hers.
Would you watch this film? For those who love a good historical flick, I definitely recommend this one.
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