This title-card looks better suited to a science fiction film than a period drama. Who designed this, and what were they thinking? On the bright side, the music is good.
The Way We Live Now is based on an 1875 novel by Anthony Trollope. It has a practically Dickensian amount of subplots, but the main story revolves around a financial scam.
There's a long list of familiar actors:
David Suchet (the title character in Poirot) as Melmotte
Miranda Otto (Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings) as Mrs. Hurtle
Matthew Macfadyen (Arthur in Little Dorrit 2008) as Sir Felix
Lilo Baur (Hortense in Bleak House 2005) as a maid (again!) (though a less murderous one this time)
Cillian Murphy (Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders) as Paul Montague
Anne-Marie Duff (voice of Hyzenthlay in Watership Down 2018) as Georgiana
Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter) as Marie Melmotte
Joanna David (Mrs. Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice 1995) as Lady Pomona Longestaffe
Douglas Hodge (Lydgate in Middlemarch 1994) as Roger Carbury
David Bradley (Riderhood in Our Mutual Friend 1998) as Mr. Broune
Jim Carter (Captain Brown in Cranford) as Mr. Brehgert
Fenella Woolgar (Arabella in He Knew He Was Right) as Lady Julia
Richard Cant (Mercury in Bleak House 2005) as Adolphus "Dolly" Longestaffe
Toby Jones (Quilp in The Old Curiosity Shop 2007) as Squercum
The Melmottes have just arrived in London. Augustus Melmotte, a financier, is supposed to be enormously rich, but there are rumours he was involved in a failed bank before. This doesn't stop people flocking to give him their money. Nor does it stop scoundrels plotting to marry Melmotte's daughter Marie for her money.
Meanwhile, we meet the Carbury family. Lady Carbury is an aspiring but talentless writer who is rapidly running out of money through her own and and her son's extravagance; Sir Felix, the aforementioned son, is a gambling spendthrift who wouldn't know a moral if he fell over it; and Hetta, his sister, is disgusted with her family's behaviour but can do nothing about it.
Felix plans to marry Marie Melmotte. His wretched mother encourages him in it and gives him money to help him. Hetta is appalled, but her family refuse to listen. Soon afterwards they go to visit their cousin Roger. He has somewhat more sense than Lady Carbury or Felix, but he's also in love with Hetta despite being about twenty years older than her. Lady Carbury wants Hetta to marry Roger because he's rich, with no regard for what Hetta wants.
Side note: I'm not a fan of the way the hunting scene is filmed. It jumps around so much and the camera is so shaky that it makes me feel dizzy.
Roger has a ward, Paul Montague, who falls in love at first sight with Hetta... and she falls in love with him. Paul has been living in America and is interested in engineering. He's trying to raise money to build a railway between America and Mexico. Naturally, he becomes one of the many people to get involved in Melmotte's schemes.
It's a pretty grim scene, but I can't help laughing when Mrs. Melmotte covers her ears when her husband and stepdaughter are yelling at each other.
The Carburys and Paul are invited to a ball the Melmottes are hosting. While there, Paul and Hetta become closer, and Felix meets Marie. The scene of Paul and Hetta dancing together (several times) is cute, but in hindsight it becomes depressing. I liked Paul the first time I saw this scene, but after learning certain things about his past, I don't like him nearly as much.
Among the other things that happen at the ball, we get an entirely unnecessary scene of Felix and Marie kissing, and learn that a prince is among the Melmotte's many guests. There's a comical scene of Mrs. Melmotte being completely caught off-guard when the prince asks her to dance 😄
Roger proposes to Hetta. She refuses him, to her mother's disgust. Roger goes and confronts Felix about his spending. This is one of the few times I agree with Roger. After that he tries to warn Paul away from getting involved with Melmotte -- which I approve of -- and from courting Hetta -- which I don't approve of, and which made me despise Roger.
Side note about the railway: no idea if this is from the original novel or not, but I find it very hard to believe Salt Lake City would be considered as a good place to build a railway station. This was a time when Salt Lake City and its inhabitants were basically outlaws. What were Paul and his friends thinking?
Melmotte plans to use Paul's railway to steal other people's money. Paul hasn't a clue about this... yet. Felix becomes one of the directors of Paul's railway. I face-palmed when he said he was good with money, and laughed when Hetta said he was good at losing it.
Marie tells Felix that Mrs. Melmotte isn't her mother, and that her real mother disappeared mysteriously. Creeeepy. Than as if Felix isn't enough of a scumbag, we learn that while meeting Marie, he's also involved with another girl, Ruby, who lives on Roger's estate. There's a scene with the two of them that I always skip.
The music in this series is some of the eeriest I've ever heard in period drama. Especially that opera-ish wailing towards the end of episode one.
At the start of episode two, we learn that Paul was once engaged to an American widow, Mrs. Hurtle. She's followed him to England to force him to marry her. Paul tells her he loves another woman, but she refuses to let him out of the engagement.
The Carburys are getting deeply into debt. Lady Carbury and Felix only make things worse, and Hetta can't stop them. I sympathise with Hetta's anger, but I find it very hard to believe a 19th century upper-class woman would ever outright compare a loveless marriage to prostitution. Not only was that a taboo subject, but loveless marriages were the norm for women like Hetta. It's only quite recently than marrying for love has become the rule rather than the exception, so Hetta's attitude is rather anachronistic.
Shares in the railway company are going up and up. Melmotte encourages more and more people to buy them. Paul begins to have some worries about this scheme, especially when he suspects none of the money is being used to build the railway.
Melmotte finds out about Felix and Marie's "engagement". He isn't happy, especially because Felix has no money. I rolled my eyes when Felix said he was a gentleman. Yeah, suuuuuure you are, Felix.
I laughed at the scene where Georgiana (who reminds me a great deal of Fanny Thornton in North and South) yelled at her father for not taking her to London, and her father simply held his newspaper up to his face and ignored her.
Felix is still seeing Ruby, whose grandfather wants her to marry another man. She refuses John, the other man, so her grandfather beats her. Ruby runs away and goes to London to find Felix. I'm just waiting for the moment when Ruby and Marie find out about each other. It'll be exactly what Felix deserves. Less than he deserves, actually.
Marie seems to be both very childish and slightly unhinged. I'm torn between feeling sorry for her and being slightly afraid of her.
Ruby has taken lodgings in the same place where Mrs. Hurtle is staying, and she sees Paul with Mrs. Hurtle. Mrs. Hurtle told her they're engaged. I can already see where this is going.
Paul is becoming more and more suspicious of Melmotte. He decides to investigate by going to Mexico. Hetta admits she loves Paul. She still doesn't know about Mrs. Hurtle. No way can this end well.
Georgiana, the sister of Felix's friend, is staying with the Melmottes, where she meets Mr. Brehgert -- a banker and one of the few decent, likeable characters in this series. Or maybe I'm immediately prejudiced in his favour because I can't see him without thinking of Captain Brown. Unfortunately, he's yet another person dragged into Melmotte's web.
Marie plans to elope with Felix. She steals a cheque from her father to pay for their boat fare. Meanwhile, Mrs. Hurtle tries to convince Paul to take her with him. And Ruby tells Felix she's seen Paul with Mrs. Hurtle.
Episode two ends with Marie preparing for the elopement, and Felix reluctantly going along with it. And then Roger sees Paul with Mrs. Hurtle. Paul tries to explain. Roger doesn't believe him. I don't like Roger, but I have to agree with him when he says Hetta won't want to be dragged into this mess. I'm not too fond of Paul either, but I definitely agree with him when he says Hetta is embarrassed and disgusted by Roger's interest in her.
My overall opinion? ...I haven't decided yet. It's not terrible, but it's not outstanding. There are some scenes I wish weren't in it and some characters I detest, but I can still watch it without cringing. We'll have to wait and see if the next two episodes change my opinion 😊
Rating: 5/10.
Review of the next two episodes here.
There's a long list of familiar actors:
David Suchet (the title character in Poirot) as Melmotte
Miranda Otto (Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings) as Mrs. Hurtle
Matthew Macfadyen (Arthur in Little Dorrit 2008) as Sir Felix
Lilo Baur (Hortense in Bleak House 2005) as a maid (again!) (though a less murderous one this time)
Cillian Murphy (Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders) as Paul Montague
Anne-Marie Duff (voice of Hyzenthlay in Watership Down 2018) as Georgiana
Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter) as Marie Melmotte
Joanna David (Mrs. Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice 1995) as Lady Pomona Longestaffe
Douglas Hodge (Lydgate in Middlemarch 1994) as Roger Carbury
David Bradley (Riderhood in Our Mutual Friend 1998) as Mr. Broune
Jim Carter (Captain Brown in Cranford) as Mr. Brehgert
Fenella Woolgar (Arabella in He Knew He Was Right) as Lady Julia
Richard Cant (Mercury in Bleak House 2005) as Adolphus "Dolly" Longestaffe
Toby Jones (Quilp in The Old Curiosity Shop 2007) as Squercum
The Melmottes have just arrived in London. Augustus Melmotte, a financier, is supposed to be enormously rich, but there are rumours he was involved in a failed bank before. This doesn't stop people flocking to give him their money. Nor does it stop scoundrels plotting to marry Melmotte's daughter Marie for her money.
The very sinister Mr. Melmotte
Meanwhile, we meet the Carbury family. Lady Carbury is an aspiring but talentless writer who is rapidly running out of money through her own and and her son's extravagance; Sir Felix, the aforementioned son, is a gambling spendthrift who wouldn't know a moral if he fell over it; and Hetta, his sister, is disgusted with her family's behaviour but can do nothing about it.
The nauseating Sir Felix and equally nauseating Lady Carbury
Hetta
Felix plans to marry Marie Melmotte. His wretched mother encourages him in it and gives him money to help him. Hetta is appalled, but her family refuse to listen. Soon afterwards they go to visit their cousin Roger. He has somewhat more sense than Lady Carbury or Felix, but he's also in love with Hetta despite being about twenty years older than her. Lady Carbury wants Hetta to marry Roger because he's rich, with no regard for what Hetta wants.
Lady Carbury and Roger
Side note: I'm not a fan of the way the hunting scene is filmed. It jumps around so much and the camera is so shaky that it makes me feel dizzy.
Roger has a ward, Paul Montague, who falls in love at first sight with Hetta... and she falls in love with him. Paul has been living in America and is interested in engineering. He's trying to raise money to build a railway between America and Mexico. Naturally, he becomes one of the many people to get involved in Melmotte's schemes.
Hetta and Paul
It's a pretty grim scene, but I can't help laughing when Mrs. Melmotte covers her ears when her husband and stepdaughter are yelling at each other.
Well, that's one way to cope with a dysfunctional family! 😆
The Carburys and Paul are invited to a ball the Melmottes are hosting. While there, Paul and Hetta become closer, and Felix meets Marie. The scene of Paul and Hetta dancing together (several times) is cute, but in hindsight it becomes depressing. I liked Paul the first time I saw this scene, but after learning certain things about his past, I don't like him nearly as much.
Marie
Among the other things that happen at the ball, we get an entirely unnecessary scene of Felix and Marie kissing, and learn that a prince is among the Melmotte's many guests. There's a comical scene of Mrs. Melmotte being completely caught off-guard when the prince asks her to dance 😄
Roger proposes to Hetta. She refuses him, to her mother's disgust. Roger goes and confronts Felix about his spending. This is one of the few times I agree with Roger. After that he tries to warn Paul away from getting involved with Melmotte -- which I approve of -- and from courting Hetta -- which I don't approve of, and which made me despise Roger.
Side note about the railway: no idea if this is from the original novel or not, but I find it very hard to believe Salt Lake City would be considered as a good place to build a railway station. This was a time when Salt Lake City and its inhabitants were basically outlaws. What were Paul and his friends thinking?
Melmotte plans to use Paul's railway to steal other people's money. Paul hasn't a clue about this... yet. Felix becomes one of the directors of Paul's railway. I face-palmed when he said he was good with money, and laughed when Hetta said he was good at losing it.
Marie tells Felix that Mrs. Melmotte isn't her mother, and that her real mother disappeared mysteriously. Creeeepy. Than as if Felix isn't enough of a scumbag, we learn that while meeting Marie, he's also involved with another girl, Ruby, who lives on Roger's estate. There's a scene with the two of them that I always skip.
The music in this series is some of the eeriest I've ever heard in period drama. Especially that opera-ish wailing towards the end of episode one.
At the start of episode two, we learn that Paul was once engaged to an American widow, Mrs. Hurtle. She's followed him to England to force him to marry her. Paul tells her he loves another woman, but she refuses to let him out of the engagement.
Paul and Mrs. Hurtle.
(When she first appeared I knew I'd seen her somewhere before. Half-way through the episode I realised she was Éowyn. Of all people!)
The Carburys are getting deeply into debt. Lady Carbury and Felix only make things worse, and Hetta can't stop them. I sympathise with Hetta's anger, but I find it very hard to believe a 19th century upper-class woman would ever outright compare a loveless marriage to prostitution. Not only was that a taboo subject, but loveless marriages were the norm for women like Hetta. It's only quite recently than marrying for love has become the rule rather than the exception, so Hetta's attitude is rather anachronistic.
Shares in the railway company are going up and up. Melmotte encourages more and more people to buy them. Paul begins to have some worries about this scheme, especially when he suspects none of the money is being used to build the railway.
Melmotte finds out about Felix and Marie's "engagement". He isn't happy, especially because Felix has no money. I rolled my eyes when Felix said he was a gentleman. Yeah, suuuuuure you are, Felix.
I laughed at the scene where Georgiana (who reminds me a great deal of Fanny Thornton in North and South) yelled at her father for not taking her to London, and her father simply held his newspaper up to his face and ignored her.
Georgiana Longestaffe, one of this series' many obnoxious brats.
Felix is still seeing Ruby, whose grandfather wants her to marry another man. She refuses John, the other man, so her grandfather beats her. Ruby runs away and goes to London to find Felix. I'm just waiting for the moment when Ruby and Marie find out about each other. It'll be exactly what Felix deserves. Less than he deserves, actually.
Ruby
Marie seems to be both very childish and slightly unhinged. I'm torn between feeling sorry for her and being slightly afraid of her.
Ruby has taken lodgings in the same place where Mrs. Hurtle is staying, and she sees Paul with Mrs. Hurtle. Mrs. Hurtle told her they're engaged. I can already see where this is going.
Paul is becoming more and more suspicious of Melmotte. He decides to investigate by going to Mexico. Hetta admits she loves Paul. She still doesn't know about Mrs. Hurtle. No way can this end well.
Georgiana, the sister of Felix's friend, is staying with the Melmottes, where she meets Mr. Brehgert -- a banker and one of the few decent, likeable characters in this series. Or maybe I'm immediately prejudiced in his favour because I can't see him without thinking of Captain Brown. Unfortunately, he's yet another person dragged into Melmotte's web.
Mr. Brehgert at one of the Melmottes' parties
Marie plans to elope with Felix. She steals a cheque from her father to pay for their boat fare. Meanwhile, Mrs. Hurtle tries to convince Paul to take her with him. And Ruby tells Felix she's seen Paul with Mrs. Hurtle.
Episode two ends with Marie preparing for the elopement, and Felix reluctantly going along with it. And then Roger sees Paul with Mrs. Hurtle. Paul tries to explain. Roger doesn't believe him. I don't like Roger, but I have to agree with him when he says Hetta won't want to be dragged into this mess. I'm not too fond of Paul either, but I definitely agree with him when he says Hetta is embarrassed and disgusted by Roger's interest in her.
My overall opinion? ...I haven't decided yet. It's not terrible, but it's not outstanding. There are some scenes I wish weren't in it and some characters I detest, but I can still watch it without cringing. We'll have to wait and see if the next two episodes change my opinion 😊
Rating: 5/10.
Review of the next two episodes here.
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