A privileged middle-class girl raised in rural southern England gets a rude awakening to the world when a family move forces her to contend with the unseemly inhabitants of a northern mill town in director Brian Percival's adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's timeless love story. Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe) is the daughter of a middle-class parson and a girl accustomed to decidedly refined company. When her family is uprooted and forced to move to the northern mill town of Milton, the prim and proper country girl is notably contemptuous of her new working class neighbors - and especially of charismatic mill owner John Thornton (Richard Armitage.
Customer Rating
5
One of the best movies I ever seen.
on January 25, 2009
Posted by: Airillusion
from Central Coast, CA
I loved Richard Armitage as John Thorton. His acting was amazing. He could get across a feeling with just a look. I've seen him in Robin Hood and never liked him because he was the villan. I think that marks a truly gifted actor when you despise him when he plays the villan but love him when he plays the romantic lead. I feel the same of Daniela Denby-Ashe. She played a strong willed woman very well.
What's great about it: Well developed characters and the most romantic scene at the end
I am generally pleased with BBC adaptions as they stay very close to the books but this one was especially well done. I like the actors portrayals of the characters. The sequences where Catherine daydreams about being in her books were quite funny and helped us get to know her character. I especially like J.J. Fielding, I've seen him in other BBC productions and find him an excellent leading man. My mother and grandmother also enjoyed this film and neither of them have read the book. The story is as delightful as any Jane Austen story. So if you like any of her other stories, you will like this one.
What's great about it: They stayed close to the book and the daydream sequences were fantastic