North & South (2004)

As a fan of Pride and Prejudice I love these old British tales from Victorian England such as Jane Austen and Eliz Caskell. I kind of stumbled into North and South and was floored on how well it is done. The BBC takes enormous pains to develop each character to a fine depth and endearment and fleshes out all the nuances. The subdued feelings and manners of the time and the repressed and polite discourse; then it is finessed into a wonderful emotional crescendo at the end.I was hysterically crying when my WIFE walked in after binge watching all four hours on Netflix. How wonderful it is done! And I thought P&P was the benchmark! No longer.Yes, I went to USC Film School and worked in the film industry for awhile but that did nothing to suspend my thoughts of today and be swept back to 1845 England. Both lead actors do superb jobs in their roles and the technical aspects of a mill town of the Industrial Revolution is well crafted and adeptly displayed. Job well done BBC!

North & South took my breath away. I can find no fault in it and at the risk of causing a literary uproar, I think this is better than Pride and Prejudice. And Richard Armitage, oh my goodness! Who knew the same guy who played Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit could be such a heartthrob? The beauty of this series though, in my opinion, is that there is so much more to it than just romance. By the end of the series, I was crying for the fictional characters not out of sorrow, for the first time in my life, but out of joy! Brilliant stuff.

What a wonderful adaptation of this classic tale. The acting was superb and made me an instant fan of Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage both of which whose acting made the love story come alive for me. The supporting staff was also superb, especially Sinéad Cusack, Anna Martin, Brendan Coyle, Tim Pigott-Smith, and John Light. I was surprised to learn that this story was originally written by Elizabeth Gaskell in the 1800's. And that Dicken was her editor, making it a true classic tale. The storyline was so well adapted by Sandy Welch who writes many of the best adaptations of classics available today, including Emma, and my favorite version of Jane Eyre. I loved the progression of the relationship between John Thornton, and Margaret Hale, two people from different social backgrounds who in the beginning didn't understand each other, to their gradual respect of each other and eventual love. Richard Armitage, did such a good job as John, his ability to go from strong and powerful, to insecure and loving (it was such good acting on his part). After seeing him in this role I know I would love to see him play Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights (for which he would be perfect). He has that kind of dynamic personality and such a range of acting ability. I know him from MI-5 (Spooks in the UK), and from the Hobbit.... but the North and the South is his greatest role to date. I just want more of him in love stories! The same is true of the beautiful Daniela Denby- Ashe, I know I must have seen her in other roles, but she dominates this role completely. Her acting is wonderful and so believable that it takes you right into the era she was portraying. She is so beautiful with those expressive eyes and perfect mouth and so talented an actress. I was surprised I hadn't seen her in more lead movie roles. She definitely belongs up there with the best of actresses of her day. The story North and South was really interesting, showing the lives of the mill workers, and the gentry of the day. Their lives were so strikingly different and so complexly intertwined. The story also showed how the industrial revolution changed forever the future of so many, expanding the wealth of the merchant class, the laborers and the initiating the decline of the English aristocracy. Today we still live in economies defined by the industrial revolution of that day, although, I do believe it is time for another economic revolution. A revolution to create an economic system that would support the technology advances of our time (The need for less human labor and more sharing of the wealth that technological advances affords us). Just as in the past when Unionization ensured labor a voice in defining the business norms of that day, and the social structures that grew up around it. The activism shown in the labor movement of that time is still needed in today's complex global economy. I see the laborers in China, India and in third world countries still battling for the same rights won by the mill workers of that era. Therefore, I think this story is still relevant to the world we live in. Modern industrialized countries need better ways to manage and maintain the gains won in the past by workers, and emerging economies are still battling the same problems. I could get on my soap-box but really what makes this story work is the classic love story and the dichotomy of rich and poor of that day. In terms of the love story, Thornton (Richard Armitage) makes a most handsome lover, strong and tall, tender and love stricken, conflicted by the belief that he is not worthy of his feelings for Margaret (Daniela). Margaret is a woman worthy of his love, honorable to a fault with a social consciousness that enlightens Thornton beliefs. She is the kind of woman who could make him fulfill his potential as a man. You get glimpses of his potential in moments like when he is educating the observers at the exposition, and when he takes on Higgins(Brendan) and begins to relate to his worker's plight. His relationship with his Mother(Sinéad) shows glimpses of his humanness, vulnerability and insecurities as opposed to the strength he shows in his work world. For Margaret you see her grow up from the girl who grew up in relative comfort of the south. Who was not ready to love (especially poor Henry Lennox who loved her to the end) to someone who's social consciousness defined her and all around her. She goes from disliking the man she see's beating up a worker for smoking in the mill, to valuing his industriousness and integrity. To realizing how much she admires and misses him when separated. I just love that last scene where the both long for each other believing they will never see each other again, to meeting by accident at the rail station, and touching and kissing for the first time.. It left me longing for a sequel (well, I'd like to see more of their relationship develop, with the eventual conflicts that are abound to happen when they marry.. ). All I can say is that it's a wonderful mini-series.. Buy it, view it, love it.

Funnily enough I first fell in love with the music from this series (beautiful composition) but held off watching it due to exams. As soon as my last exam finished I watched it and became so enthralled in the story I had to watch all four parts at once! I then watched again a week later and was just enthralled!There are so many components of this series that make it fantastic! The story for one. The cinematography, design and music is also outstanding and really draws you in to the world of milton. The thing that really made the film for me was the acting! All the actors really paid credit to their characters, in particular Richard armitage He played both the tough, stern Thornton and the loving sides of thornton so well that parts of it.. especially the end scene.. literally took my breath away! Absolutely incredible film.. Everyone should watch it!