The Way We Live Now (2001)

This dark drama/sometime comedy based on Anthony Trollop's novel is probably my favorite miniseries of all time. David Suchet and Shirley Henderson steal the show. Their acting and interpersonal dynamics are among the best to ever grace the screen. Matthew McFadden and Cheryl Campbel, too, are are amazing.The musical score is brilliant -- a perfect fit.The only flaw in this series is a major one -- the awful miscasting of Cillian Murphy as Paul Montague. Awful. His China doll complexion and blue eyes more resemble a Kewpee Doll than a man working in the rugged American west to build a railroad. He looks ridiculous in a cowboy hat, and his attempt at a cowboy swagger is cringeworthy. Murphy's miscasting is as glaring as that of Leslie Howard in Gone With The Wind. Both wonderful actors, just playing the wrong part.Other than this flaw, The Way We Live Now is not to be missed!

The Way We Live Now is yet another British TV adaptation of the works of Anthony Trollope. Like The Pallisers and The Barchester Chronicles this is yet another mini-series to savor. The rich setting of 1870's London society is boldly brought to the screen. David Suchet gives the performance of his career as scoundrel Augustus Malmotte. Equally brilliant is Shirley Henderson as his daughter Marie. Henderson has emerged as one of the more spellbinding thespians of the last ten years. Why she isn't a major star when performers with a tiny fraction of her talent are on the A-list is one of those mysteries that will never be explained. Still, this is not quite up there in the same league with The Pallisers. Some of the characters are not that interesting. Unfortunately, Miranda Otto as Mrs. Hurtle and Cillian Murphy as Paul Montague are miscast.

Trollope's novel is filled with wonderful dialog and marvelously complex characters, but don't expect to encounter any of that here. It's all been thoroughly dumbed down, thanks to scriptwriter Andrew Davies who somehow got the idea he was capable of improving upon the original when he sat down to do the adaptation. There are so many places in this film which must leave a Trollope-lover gasping in disbelief, but I can mention one them without spoiling anything for those who haven't seen it. Davies' interpretation of the title phrase, "The Way We Live Now", which is twice forced into the mouths of characters in the film, though it appears not at all in the novel, does not refer to the corruption of nineteenth century English society, but simply means that relationships are difficult and things are complicated. Please.

Anthony Trollope wrote the novel, but the TV mini-series was adapted by the brilliant Andrew Davies (also Pride and Prejudice). The book is a deep and witty dissection of the financial world of get-rich-quick. The mini-series catches Trollope's wit and lets us see what we could only imagine in the book. Few adaptations of classic fiction came off better than this one...maybe this is the best ever. The characters and themes are as contemporary as any story of financial disaster in the Wall Street Journal. Like MACBETH, THE WAY could successfully be set in modern times because it is a modern story; a timeless story. In this production, the sets, costumes, horses and trappings of London in the 1870's enrich the story. We watch THE WAY often and every showing reveals details we missed, but which delight.