Thoughts on: Wives and Daughters 1999

I am currently the proud owner of hamster cheeks. That is, I am trying to survive the extraction of those wisdom teeth. (It's okay, it really is. It's just cumbersome. And I don't exactly feel glamorous. :-P) But you know, why not do something minorly productive and write a blog post? Today I've watched 2 episodes of Mr Selfridge (it is so similar to The Paradise, like, I'm surprised one series didn't blame the other for plagarism), about 20 episodes of Emma Approved (#Knighthouse), I've slept and swallowed down ice-cream, and I'm currently listening to jazz (Marilyn Monroe is currently singing "I wanna be loved by you" and it's cute) and you know what, I'm going to write down a blog post.

Also, not to be Frank Churchill, but this heat is MADDENING. Belgium, you're supposed to have the reputation for bad weather. Prove it. THIS IS TOO HOT.

Anyways. Thoughts on Wives and Daughters. (That's another way of saying: "A review, but not a good enough one, so not worthy to be called a review." :-P) (Or "discombobulated ramblings on a dear movie.") (See, I am not that bad at blog post titles. Book titles, however, are an entirely different matter.)

Let us start by pointing out the negatives, shall we? (I know, I know, ever the optimist.)

MRS GIBSON. Aka. Claire or Hyacinth or the previous Mrs Kirkpatrick or, as I call her, the-spoilt-brat-who-ughhhh-no-leave-the-room. I cannot stand this woman. (Yes, those are grapes in her hair. But believe me, that is only a tiny fraction of her annoyingness.) Mrs Gibson is the kind of character you want to grab by the hair and scratch like a kitten (not to be blunt). The way she craves money and fame and attention is just ugh. I feel so bad for Molly for having to live with the woman, and I cannot give Mr Gibson much respect because he picked her out as a wife.

Speaking of Mr Gibson... I know loads of people like him as character, but personally he annoys me almost as much as Hyacinth! (Okay, not quite as much. Hyacinth is, granted, hard to beat on that score.) But really, I find him quite creepy - the way he calls his daughter goosey with that close stare and sends her off and controls Molly and then honestly thinks marrying Hyacinth is a SENSIBLE thing to do. And when he's angry at Molly when there's all the gossip about Mr Preston... like noo, just be calm, sir, have faith in your daughter.

The first episode, personally, I find rather slow. I only get 'into' the movie by episode 2. (Don't kill me, but Cynthia has to arrive to give the mini series the dazzle and the colour.) However, I do LOVE the scene in episode one where Roger comforts Molly when he finds her crying in the garden after she's found out about The Unwanted Engagement. Roger is like the BEST older brother and IT'S SO CUTE (because that's the thing: HE'S NOT THE OLDER BROTHER.) (Spoiler alert. :-P)

More negative things? Pheobe Brown was annoying. Kind of humorous, I guess, but definitely eye-roll-worthy-material. Sally's not much better. It always tickles me how she has a barouche in Wives and Daughters just like she famously has in Cranford. (Not Sally. The actress. She's called Mrs Jamieson-the-one-with-the-dog in Cranford.)

The Hamely-family scenes sometimes went on too much. (I only love them when Roger is in them. I could watch many Hamely scenes if Roger were in them all.)  Mr Hamely annoys me, although Michael Gambon is a good actor. (No sister-reading-this, don't say he isn't.) (My siblings somehow dislike Michael Gambon with a certain passion.) Mrs Hamely's death was sad, but I never got very attached to her as a character. She certainly is very sweet though, and man, I feel bad for Osborne for having to have his mum die being disappointed in him.

Osborne is a poor thing. The poor guy has one miserable happening after the other. He's not exactly what you'd call a lucky chap.

As we are still in the negative part of the review (or whatever), Harriet's hair in the last episode (the wig-pixie-cut-thing. yeah. that.) was a ghastly mess. Of course, a lot of the hair was ridiculous (remember the grapes in Mrs Gibson's hair-do), as were some of the puffed sleeves. Let's just say the wardrobes in here are an Anne Shirley gown heaven.

I DO like Lady Harriet Cumnor though; better then I did last time. She is a frank, open-hearted, confidant, witty lady. I like her face and her quick attitude. I like how she makes sure no-one thinks badly of Molly. I LOVE how she ships Molly with - spoiler alert but not really - Roger.

Can I also give a shout-out to Lady Catherine the Bourgh Lady Cumnor? She's hilarious. And her pwonouncishon is pwetty hilawious.

Let's speak of Cynthia. She is an interesting character with many different sides to her. Annoying, lovable, frustrating, ungenuine yet genuine. Do not unfollow me (well, I guess you can if you want to), but, but, but *whisper* I have a soft spot for Cynthia Kirkpatrick. Not that I approve of her actions - she is a flirt and she should not accept all those proposals and such and UGH the way she does not care a jot about Roger and her carelessness of his letters makes me so angry... but, but. I can't hate her. I cannot call her a villain.

And I feel bad for her with the Mr Preston plot. I also sort of feel bad for Preston. Look, it's a VERY good, unfortunate plot line. Preston loves Cynthia, Cynthia hates him despite the fact that she consented to marry him when she was 15. Preston has a very odd way of showing his love to Cynthia, which Molly (the DARLING) resolves. Whether or not you dislike Cynthia, I think we all agree her Preston-situation is very unfortunate. Yes, she shouldn't have promised him her hand but she was fifteen BUT DUDE, Preston has charm, and she changed her mind and that should be allowed.

I HATE that she doesn't break it off with Roger (or starts it in the first place) sooner. But I love how she admits her faults and how charming she is. I hate how flirty she is, but I love how she sees it. She is, you've got to admit, very honest. That is a good quality. (BUT SHE SHOULD TRY TO REMEDY HER FAULTS. Actually try.)

(Ignore Mrs Gibson in the above picture. Focus on Molly.)

Molly. Ah Molly. The girl who deserves so much more than she gets - the girl who has her heart broken and only mended till the very end - the girl who has to endure gossip because she's friendly - the girl who's left with everyone's problems - She is a DARLING.

I have no more to say. A DARLING. One of my favourite heroines out there, for sure. I love Molly Gibson.

I LOVE ROGER. Yes, I am sad he had the Cynthia phase, but I think they had him realise his mistake very well, what with him being so far away and just clinging to the thought of Cynthia because he knew nothing better. I love him best with Molly, of course. I wish for more Molly-Roger scenes and less Cynthia-Roger scenes. I always get excited when Roger is back in England. The guy is in Africa too often.

Seriously though. This guy has a place in my heart. Handsome, cute, a gentleman, so KIND and so good and also super clever. I mean... seriously. He's somethin'. (Underrated, too.) (And the nicest brother to Osborne.)

CAN WE JUST APPRECIATE HOW PERFECT THEY ARE TOGETHER?! I was literally sobbing during his proposal and ohh, I need more Molly-Roger scenes. They are so adorable and beautiful together and why it didn't happen sooner is a crying shame. The last episode is so glorious and tension-y filled it's almost annoying to watch. I love it though. Molly and Roger for ever and ever amen.

(Also I kind of wish there was a kiss. :-P) (Yes, there isn't.) (Not even a hug.) (They could at least have done a hug.) (The rainy proposal was so epic it made up for it though.) (And the Africa honeymoon.) (AND JUST THEM.) (Still wish there was a kiss.) (Or a hug.) (Or both.)

I'll stop with the brackets.

What do you think of this gorgeous miniseries? Have you seen it? Tell me thy thoughts.

PS I PERSONALLY LOVE THE COSTUMES IN HERE. Especially Cynthia's wickedly gorgeous dark blue ballgown she wears in London (:-O) and Molly's red one at the engagement party. The costumes are amazing in this miniseries, albeit sometimes rather much. Brownie points for whoever was in charge of the costumes, though.

Ugly Period Drama Dresses

My reaction to most of these:

Yes, there are some ugly Period Drama dresses, despite the fact that I seem to insist that 'every dress in this movie is AMAZING', and that, 'Gah I love her wardrobe.' I thought it would be fun to devote an entire post towards the bashing of those ugly dresses that either didn't flatter the character, looked completely comical rather than completely smashing, or just were downright ugly. Let's start - this ought to be fun. :-)

"What an ugly bonnet, Lydia. What possessed you to buy it?"

UGHHH, Cora's wardrobe isn't bad in general, but this dress is extremely unflattering, in my opinion. It highlights her figure in all the bad ways and the colours clash in all the bad ways as well. And then the gold? With the red? I don't like it. (Seriously, O'Brien is the better dressed one in this picture. When in doubt, stick to black - that's solid fashion advice.)

Suit yourself Anne, suit yourself, but I haven't the foggiest idea what you're so enraptured about. In the book, where you got an adorable double-puffed brown gloria dress, I can imagine it - fully imagine it. But in the Period Drama??? With the oversized collar, the Henry-the-Eighth-sleeves, and the unflattering milky blue - you look quite bad. (Please don't smash me over the head with th-- )

Ha. Ha. We alllll know what a fan I am of P&P05, right? (Sarcasm.) One of the reasons why I hate it is Caroline Bingley's Netherfield Ball "GOWN." I like to say that she forgot to put on her dress and that she's dancing around in her underwear because THAT IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. Look - spaghetti straps. She's got spaghetti straps. (I'm going. Bye. Bye guys.)

Yes, this is probably the prettiest dress in this post, but it isn't pretty. Edith's wardrobe in the later series is AMAZINGNESS (Edith looks stellar in 20's clothes), but some of her outfits - mainly this one - have disappointed me. It looks especially vile when she actually stands up in it and walks. It's like someone added some sickly orange old drapes over a clashing blue blouse. I'm not loving it.

Molly, I love you, I love you --- buuuut really? You in a watermelon-sleeved dress and slithery, slinky feathers in your hair? Stick to adorable attires, they flatter you so much more. Yes, you look elegant, but you also look a bit ridiculous. The sleeves. I mean - I know - it's the fashion. Buuuut - it's ugly.

I know these dresses are made to look the sisters ridiculous, but I couldn't not mention one of their absurd matching ensembles in this post! Their clothes are actually hilarious - always over-the-top, always matching, always interesting, always ridiculous. They do prove with their outfits that they're good at sewing though, which is the point, because they own a dress-shop.

HAHAHA. LET US ALL LAUGH. Seriously, Bright Star made me rather queasy because of the moany main character, the odd mushy romance and... YUCK THE COSTUMES. The girl (Abbie, I think?) is supposed to be a seamstress with a sense of creativity, but I think she's a seamstress with a sense of clownish-creation-ridiculous-laughing-stock-creativity. (Or whatever.) Basically, I think her entire wardrobe is dreadful. I mean... just LOOK AT THE COLLAR. (And look at this vile dress.) (AND THIS ONE.) (And this hat!) (I know, ewww.)

And last and probably also least - we have Scarlett's red 'dress.' With tule around the elbows, ostrich feathers tumbling dramatically from the shoulders and a Marylin Monroe-dress bodice. Yes. Haha. You'd find someone wearing this after the Civil War, wouldn't you? ;-P I LOVE most of Scarlett's dresses, even the ones that aren't historically accurate, but OH THIS ONE. It's dreadful! I do not like it, not one little bit. :-P

Why I love Period Drama so much.

{Many pictures are grabbed from this wonderful place.}

{Warning: There are a toooon of pictures in this post, because it's a post about Period Dramas, and you all know I get rather nuts when I come to this particular topic. So if your Internet is in a bad mood (*cough*  What am I saying, it always is) I'm sorry if all the pictures don't load properly. Come back later, because you'll want to see them all. This is a post very pleasant to the eyes, even if I do say so myself.}

An explanation of this post: WHY I LOVE PERIOD DRAMAS SO FREAKING MUCH. Here are the reasons, the explanations and futher gushing, appreciation and love-showing towards these wonderful shows and movies.

1. The fascination of another era.

I love watching stories and characters in other eras. I don't enjoy modern-set movies; I just don't like them as much. This isn't just because of the eye-candy (you know, zee frills and co, which I will talk about very very soon) it's also because it's the past and that's just fascinating to see carried out on stage. It gives us scents and whiffs of what it was like, and it sends us to a whole new realm; a whole new sphere. When I watch Emma, I'm not in 2016, I'm in the Regency Era, wearing a muslin gown and buying bonnets in Meryton, or whatever. When I'm watching Call the Midwife I'm dipped into a slice of 1956, and I live there for a minute.

And that is wonderful. I'm fascinated, and I always want to learn more about the way they lived, acted and dressed, etc.

{Period Dramas that especially dip me into another era: Call the Midwife / War Horse / Anne of Green Gables / Pride and Prejudice 1995 / Little Dorrit.}

2. THE COSTUMES.

REALLY THOUGH. I cannot even START.

The frills and the silk and the SWISHES. I LOVE THEM. I would watch any terrible movie if the costumes were good. (Well. Maybe not, but really. I just so enjoy watching actors and actresses in Period Costumes. They just all look so terribly gorgeous and beautiful and fantastical and majestic. Especially the rich ones, and there are always plenty of rich ones.)

{Period Dramas with especially good costumes: Belle 2014 / Downton Abbey (SERIOUSLY)/ Emma 2009 (again, just... wow)/ Cinderella / The Young Victoria}

3. This obviously includes the hairstyles and the hats.

No explanation needed, really. We just need to sit down together and appreciate the amazing wigs and hair designers and curling irons and ribbons and hats and bows. Because they're wonderful. (And a Period Drama without HATS? Is that possible? NO. LIFE WOULD BE A BLANK TO ME.)

{Period Dramas with particularly good hairstyles and hats: Wives and Daughters (some of the hairstyles are ridiculous, but MAN they are impressive!) / Amazing Grace / Again, Downton Abbey (the hats in there - *swoon*) / Emma 2009 / Pride and Prejudice 1995}

4. Everything is epic.

Seriously though. When I walk on the beach - is it epic? Is it even slightly epic? No, um, no sir. When step up the stairs? Is it epic? Nope. But whenever someone in a Period Drama even walks in his own HALL, it is epic. The shadows fall on the right places, and the sun shines in the right places, and gahhh... HOW. Sometimes it looks cheesy, but most times it looks EPIC and they wear these swishy things and the right kind of hats and ohh, I get chills.

{Especially epic movies: Horatio Hornblower / Gone with the Wind / War Horse / Testament of Youth / North and South}

5. Focus on Period Details.

THIS MAKES MY HEART HAPPY. I don't know why. But all zee details. All the shots and glances at those authentic Period pieces; whether it be a paintbrush, a close-up of a gown, a typewriter, or a wine-glass... I love it.

{Some Period Dramas that make me happy with a lot of details: Downton Abbey (I mention this a lot, haha, but there's a reason for this) / Belle / Saving Mr Banks / Sense and Sensibility (both versions, actually.)}

6. Scenery

I love that Period Dramas focus a lot on beautiful natural surroundings. People in the past did spend a lot of time outside, and especially those ones who lived in this mansion in the middle of no-where. I always love some excellent, soaring, rollicking green scenery. (Green really is a beautiful, flawless colour. Never tire of it.) (Imagine if we were sick of the colour green! That would be rather problematic, wouldn't it?)

{Period Dramas with especially breath-taking scenery: Sense and Sensibility 2008 / War Horse / Pride and Prejudice (okay okay, both versions) / Bright Star / Far From the Madding Crowd and Poldark (judging from screencaps) / The Sound of Music.}

7. The colours are just... GAH.

SO many period dramas are just VIVID with colour. Especially if they feature rich people. (Yeah, Dickens Movies might not be too colourful. Although, still, there's that marvellous ridiculously pink room in Little Dorrit, right?)

{Some especially colourful movies: Belle / Brooklyn and A Royal Night Out (judging from screencaps!) / The Paradise / Pride and Prejudice 1995 / Emma 2009 / Northanger Abbey / Sense and Sensibility / Anne of Green Gables / Saving Mr Banks.}

8. THEY BREAK MY HEART.

They do. Sooo many Period Dramas (specifically looking at you, cruel and heartless BBC) just crumple me and kill me a bit on the inside. I love it when I cry and cry and cry while watching a movie; it fills me while yet making me feel terrible and useless. It is ridiculous and wonderful and HEARTBREAKING.

(Seriously though, that gif of Testament of Youth up there almost made me cry. Just by LOOKING at it. Pathetic.)

{Particularly heartbreaking Period Dramas: Testament of Youth (wins the prize, fursure) / Call the Midwife episodes / Downton Abbey / Miss Potter / Finding Neveland / The Book Thief / Little Women.}

9. The houses.

They're just fascinating and spark up all my imagination and dreams. We have the lavish in-and-exteriors of the Crawley Family, and the marvellous grounds of Pemberly. We have darling cottages with honeysuckle gardens, and pink-patterned bedrooms. Period Dramas are filled with detail, especially with the houses. The architecture, the windows, the carpets, the way they make everything look perfect... love it. :-)

{Period Dramas with particularly good exterior and interior eye-candy: Downton Abbey / The Great Gatsby and Marie Antoinette (judging from screecaps, they are really amazing in that department) / The Paradise / Lark Rise to Candleford and Cranford (for cute-houses)}

10. Zee HUMOUR

If you know me, you know I always appreciate a good laugh. Yes, I love crying while watching movies, but Oh I LOVE the humour soooo many Period Dramas offer! All the humorous characters, all the witty one-liners, famous facial expressions and funny scenes. Some simple examples right off the top of my head? Mr Collins and his proposal. Sister Evangelina in Call the Midwife and the way she sets Chummy and Peter off on a date. The conversations between the Palmers: "I wish the rain would stop"- "I wish YOU would stop."

There is so much excellent humour in Period Dramas and I love it because I dearly love to laugh. :-)

{Period Dramas with particularly good humour: Saving Mr Banks / Pride and Prejudice 1995 / Jeeves and Wooster (DUHH) / Sense and Sensibility 1995}

11. The romance.

BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL SO BEAUTIFUL. And epic and I shiiiiiip.

I mean, NEED I SAY MORE. JUST WATCH P&P AND EMMA AND DOWNTON. (*calms down*) Seriously though, Tom and Sybil, Elinor and Edward, Emma and Knightley, Minnie and Alfie, Dr Turner and Sister Bernadette - SO MANY DARLINGS. I don't think my heart can stop bursting just thinking about these adorable, good, wonderful, real romances. I love them all so much... they fill my heart with joy. (This is my inner Mrs Jennings coming out here.)

{Period Dramas with my favourite romances: All the Jane Austen movies, but especially S&S and Emma and P&P / Downton Abbey / Lark Rise to Candleford / Call the Midwife / Little Dorrit / Wives and Daughters / Miss Potter}

12. The Quotes and the Accents

 Let us not forget the gift of Period Drama quotes that we have so graciously received in our lives. And let us also likewise not forget those lovely accents that we hear with those quotes. THANK YOU. Thank you. We owe you a lot, Period Dramas. <3

{Period Dramas I constantly quote: Little Dorrit / Pride and Prejudice / The Scarlet Pimpernel / Downton Abbey / My Fair Lady / Cranford ("I have a headache of phenomenal dimension")}
{Period Dramas with fun accents: Our Zoo (DEFINITELY Our Zoo!), Downton Abbey (especially Tom's accent), Lark Rise to Candleford ('You must unbu'un.'), My Fair Lady (of course, garn!)}

13. Dance.

I always love a good ball-room scene, or a romantic dance... and well, Period Dramas DEFINITELY have a lot of those. Matthew and Mary had the swooniest dance till Lavinia came, Beatrix Potter had the CUTEST dance in her bedroom, Emma and Knightley were the adorablest couple in the ballroom, and Lizzy demonstrated real levels of sass as she danced with Mr Darcy at Netherfield. I love them all. :-)

{Period Dramas with my favourite dance scenes in 'em: Pride and Prejudice ("Mary, play Grimstock!") / Emma 2009 / DA / Miss Potter / Northanger Abbey / And very well, very well, Becoming Jane.}

14. Zee Music

Music matters so much, and Period Dramas always go for the sweepy and SWOONY kind of music which just finishes the perfectness of it all. I love that each Period Drama has their own theme song, which one just recognises IMMEDIATELY. There's the Lark Rise song, the epic Downton Abbey song, the goooorgeous Call the Midwife theme song, and the galopping beloved Pride and Prejudice 95 theme song... <3

{Period Dramas with particularly good music: The Young Victoria / Finding Neveland / Belle / Sense and Sensibility 1995 / The Book Thief / Little Women / A Royal Night Out.}

15. THE ENDINGS.

I know, I know, not all Period Dramas have good endings (cough, The Book Thief and Testament of Youth and Downton Abbey Christmas Special no.2, cough) but ohhh, MOST OF THEM DO AND... and... I cry. :-)

I do, really. I mean, just look at the happiness - the joy - look at that gif of Amy and Arthur hugging as if their lives depend on it. I've been watching that gif over and over. :-) And those endings... so often so happy and so EMOTIONAL. I so often cry when a movie ends; sometimes because they're so happy and they deserve it SO much; sometimes because I'm sad it's over; sometimes because they look back at the death of someone in the end; and mostly because of all three reasons.

{Period Dramas with excellent endings that MAKE ME CRY because of happiness: Emma 2009 / LITTLE DORRIT / Belle / Lark Rise to Candleford / Downton Abbey (I've not yet seen the last episodes, but I KNOW 100% sure that I'm going to weep for weeks.)}



This post took AAAAGES to write, but I had so much fun and I experienced so many feels while searching all the pictures. Gah, I love Period Dramas. I'm glad I live in 2016, so I can enjoy them. ;-)

(Warning for the foreseeable future: Now I've saved millions of Period Drama pictures into my laptop, a new header might pop up. I'm sick of the one I have now; it's boring, just with one picture.)