What I watched : Wuthering Heights (2009)

I think I've got a kind of love-hate relationship with Wuthering Heights. I find the story and the characters completely twisted and dark, but at the same time it is so well written and the feelings expressed are so overwhelming that I still find it incredible. 

I remember when I read the book, I was feeling so depressed at times haha, because the story is so sad. And I felt the same when I saw the 2011 film adaptation, by Andrea Arnold. By the way, I wouldn't recommend this version, I really disliked it - way too slow, too many shots of nature and dead animals (I'm not kidding, they show a lot of animal cruelty and it does make you feel bad), too dark but the kind of dark that makes you feel weird. I felt weird when I watched it, anyway. 

So I'm here to talk to you about the 2009 adaptation, which I watched recently and really enjoyed !

It is a TV film in two parts, directed by Coky Giedroyc (who directed several other mini-series, such as The Virgin Queen (2006) or Spies of Warsaw (2013, and on my to-watch list !)).

I stars Tom Hardy as Heathcliff, Charlotte Riley as Catherine Earnshaw/Linton, Andrew Lincoln as Edgar Linton (I must say the period costume suits him well !), Burn Gorman (despicable as Hindley), Sarah Lancashire as Nelly, the pretty Rebecca Night as young Catherine, etc.

Catherine and Heathcliff. Did you know that Hardy and Riley started dating after that ? Cute !

First, the images are stunning. By images, I mean the setting, the costumes, the landscapes, the way the film is shot... It is a real pleasure to watch, compared to the 2011 version I mentioned earlier, in terms of shots and setting. 

The characters are well depicted, the actors did a great job for them all, without falling into a caricature or into too much sentimentality. The film stays close to the novel, which is an important point to me in literature adaptations. 

And of course, the feelings and emotions are expressed beautifully : love, passion, sadness, despair, hate... The film, as the novel, moves you and makes you think about what is good, what is bad, what are the limits to love... Tom Hardy, especially, does a great work and in the end, you don't know if you should appreciate Heathcliff or totally despise him. He's such a mysterious character, and it's probably because of him and my judgment towards him that I'm not sure if I like the story or not. It is so disturbing, we can understand why some people were shocked when the novel was published, back in 1847 !

Anyway, if you're looking for a good adaptation of the novel, I highly suggest this one, you shouldn't be disappointed at all !

Julia xx

What I watched : Wives and Daughters

I love love looove period dramas. I love the setting, the costumes, the types of characters, the atmosphere... And I'm always discovering new ones to watch. One of the last ones that I saw is Wives and Daugthers, a BBC mini-series from 1999. 

It is the adaptation of the novel Wives and Daughters : An Everyday Story by Elizabeth Gaskell (1864-66). 

The story takes place in the 1830s. Molly Gibson is a young woman living with her dear father as her mother died years ago. But everything changes when Mr Gibson decides to marry again : Molly has to deal with a stepmother she doesn't really like, and meets Cynthia, her new stepsister. Although they are very different in character and behaviour, their friendship grows and they soon become fond of each other. Molly also befriends Mrs Hamley, the wife of the Squire. She is accepted in the house of the family as if she were one of them, and becomes friends with the two sons, Osbourne and Roger. But because of her ties with Cynthia and her stepmother, Molly will be confronted to several intrigues and secrets...

This is a very typical 19th century type of plot, with love affairs, family crises, etc. The character of Molly is very lovable, she represents everything that a young girl ought to be at the time : quiet, nice, polite, pretty, learned...

I also really love the Hamley family : Mrs Hamley, who loves Molly as a daughter (played by the wonderful Penelope Wilson), Mr Hamley, whose age starts to drive him crazy (played by Michael Gambon, a period dramas afficionado !), and Osborne (Tom Hollander, forever Mr Collins to me !) and Roger, the one true gentleman (Anthony Howell).

The miniseries is divided into four episodes, so it is not a long show - it doesn't get boring at all, and you directly fall in the spirit of the story and want to know what's happening next to the characters. The ending, obviously, is happy (period drama tradition !), but the story isn't a fairytale all along... 

If you're into this kind of films, I really recommend you watch it, also it's a bit dated (1999 seems ages ago now !), the images are great, the setting is neat and timeless, and the characters really interesting. Another BBC wonder !

Julia xx

Out in Paris : the Rodin Museum

As I live not far from Paris and go there very often, I thought it would be interesting to blog sometimes about the things I do and see there. Today I'm going show you the Rodin Museum, where I went a few weeks ago.

In this museum, opened in 1916, are exposed Auguste Rodin's sculptures. The museum is the former Biron Hotel and its garden. The place has an amazing atmosphere, it looks antique and grand but cosy at the same time, because it is a quite small house (I mean, smaller than a castle or something like that).

I really liked the garden, because it was very calm and silent, and it was cut in different areas with different atmospheres - English garden with roses (where the famous "Le Penseur" is located), fountain area, forest-like area with trees everywhere, a more chill area with benches and sand for children to play with - and all around they added some of the sculptures.

 

 (Sorry for the luminosity, the weather wasn't very good !)

Here is a view of the hotel from the back part of the garden :

(Yep there's a butt in this picture, but I couldn't manage it any other way and it's part of a statue so it's okay)

Then you could go on and visit the hotel. Unfortunately, some rooms were closed because of renovation, but you still had access to numerous rooms and could see loads of sculptures and, sometimes, paintings.

This one is so beautiful. It is called "buste de jeune fille". Sorry for the reflection of the light but the sculpture was in a glass protection box.

I really like this one. You may have recognised the famous writer Victor Hugo !

Another one that really caught my eye : "le baiser de l'ange" (the angel's kiss).

I could go on forever and show you every sculpture I fell in love with, but this article would never end. Instead I'll just show you a view of the gardens from a window of the house :

Isn't this so pretty and peaceful ? 

If you come to Paris one day, I would definitely recommend you to do a big museums tour, because a lot of them are worth visiting. And this one is part of the list !

If you're interested, here is the link to the website of the museum : Musée Rodin.

 

Julia xx