I'm going to be very pessimistic and start off with the things I do not like about Cranford:
1. Miss Matty.
Miss Matty is a kind-hearted, good lady. I GET IT. She's a darling! I'm not saying she's not. But she is also, frankly, rather dreadfully dull. That is to say, the scenes in which she makes an appearance are often my least favourite scenes. I can't EXPLAIN. I LIKE Miss Matty, but she's just not interesting enough for 100 scenes about her. Miss Matty just drives me batty. (I am a poet, and you did not know it.) (Hush. It's the custom to say that.) Maybe it's because I'm not a big fan of Judy Dench. To be honest, I've never seen her as such an amazingly good actress, much to the shock and grief of the world in general. Maybe it's because I'm not very interested about constantly hearing what 'Deborah WOULD HAVE done' and what "shocking" thing Peter did. Maybe it's because I'm not interested in tea shops and Mr Holbrook's profile. I don't know.
Oh. Now we come to another character that drives me crazy.
2. Mr Holbrook. SERIOUSLY THOUGH. THE SCENES WITH HIM TAKE AGES.
3. Lady Ludlow. UGH. HER SCENES MAKE ME SNORE. Lady Ludlow
really annoys me, and I just don't
care about her scenes. She's always
moping and moping about Septimus and that white pony. Like, stop feeling so sorry for yourself - brace up, SMILE. And her face is white as a chalk. (I suppose that's mean of me. But she could go out in the sun now and then instead of staring out of the window in her dark and grey house.)
Lady Ludlow WAS nice in some bits, and I liked her slightly more in the end, especially when she starts to see that Harry has potential. But all in all not a favourite character of mine. I can understand
why Septimus (ghastly name, by the by) doesn't want to come home.
(I sound very harsh today. These characters aren't
that bad.)
Isn't her hair pretty? (Heh. Heh.)
4. There are, in my opinion, slightly too many deaths. Elizabeth Gaskell is a big fan of killing off characters. She likes to create them, and she often doesn't know what to
do with them. So, because it's fun, she decides to kill them. Cranford has quite a few deaths. While it's not half as bad as North and South, it's still a bit... Well - SAD. Sometimes.
It breaks my HEART when (
spoiler alert!!) dear little Walter dies (WHAT'S UP WITH THAT NAME), and dear Mr Carter dies. (
spoiler is over for the time being.) Thank goodness it wasn't too bad, the deaths. Captain Brown dies in the book, but since Elizabeth Gaskell later on acknowledged she regretted his death, Sue Birstwhistle and the Cranford makers decided not to kill him off. (Thank you.)
5. Caroline Tompkinson annoyed me
sooo much. But let's be honest, Cranford wouldn't be the same without Caroline Tompkinson in the plot, her 'Oh Sister!'s, her fake swoons and ridiculous grins.
But she's a bit of an EWWW character. And her hair annoys me so much I can't even.
6. The ending was far too rushed, too. I wanted MORE of an ending.
Now. Time for zee positive list. Which, I assure you, is long and rambly and by far exceeds the negative list. I love this miniseries to bits. It makes me cry a lot, it makes me laugh a lot, and it gives me squeeful little feelings inside - you know the kind. It's colourful, old-fashioned, appropriate and just GOOD. Ahh, I
do love a good British BBC miniseries. I will always have an un-diminishing fondness towards them. Forever and ever.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START WITH THE POSITIVE LIST.
*Takes deep breath and begins*
MISS POLE. Oh my goodness. Is she hilarious or what? (Don't say what.) If it weren't for her, many of the 'old-ladies-of-Cranford-scenes' would be rather pale and insipid and boring. But she just
makes the show. She's a
genius. Ugh, the way she performs her lines, and the way that ridiculous feather on her hat bobbles around whenever there's some delicious news of gossip.
She's HILARIOUS. From her continually spreading grossly exaggerated gossip in enormous, entertaining gusto, to her friendly spirit and leading character. Gah, I love Miss Pole. I would love to spend a weekend with her, although I'd probably have enough of her by the end of it. I love that she's annoying and ridiculous as well as friendly and goodhearted. She's a dreadful gossip, but she means so well, doesn't she?
And she has some delicious lines. "My father was a man. I think I know the sex." That's my favourite. :-)
And then we have the adorable and cute Mrs Forrester. Awww. Just AWW. She's so sweet. She's absurdly emotional, but so sweet and just ADORABLE. Like a three-year-old toddler, but then even cuter. She's a bit
silly, but she means so well, and we all love her. You can't just NOT like Mrs Forrester. The cat-and-lace incident was hilarious ("there is LACE at stake!!"), and the Bessie-Dearest incident always makes me laugh.
And Bessie's PYJAMAS. "There's a flap underneath."
When she makes that little speech in her front garden, and basically apologises for being poor, my cold heart tares a bit for her. Poor lil' human being, you shouldn't
apologise! Here, let me give you a big, long squishy hug. As Miss Pole wisely said, 'Control your emotions, Mrs Forrester.' :-P (*Wine glass falls*)
Something *I* find odd is that Miss Matty and Miss Pole and Mrs Forrester neither of them have even a
hint of grey hair under their caps. Surely, they all must be nearing sixty? Miss Pole perhaps not, but Mrs Forrester...?
Then we have the Tompkinsons, who were a bit annoying. I could've smashed them up because of their treatment towards poor Dr Harrison. Tomkinsons, CAN'T YOU SEE he is NOT interested in HER. Thank you, and now buzz off. No, Caroline, you are NOT ill. You are not pale. You are only IMAGINING it. And stop weeping over that SILLY Valentine.
(There.)
I just love their little community, though. These ladies have grown up with each other; they are like one big, busy family. They help each other, they lose their temper with each other in brutal honesty. They talk about muslins and silks and the latest 'shocking' news. I want to live in Cranford.
Oh, there are two ladies I haven't talked about yet. Miss Deborah, first. Who (
spoiler) dies rather soon. (
spoiler over for the time being.) Miss Deborah was rather sour-faced, and goodness so STRICT about everything, but she was funny. She has little musical talent though, I'm sorry to say. Tinking a teaspoon during
Loch Lomond isn't a terribly musical thing to do. Frankly.
I liked the way she talked though.
"We shall go to our rooms and consume our fruit in solitude."
"I suddenly have a headache of phenomenal dimension."
And then there's Mrs Jamieson, who loves to show off that she's slightly richer than any other person in Cranford by dressing her dog in outfits as ridiculous as her own, and by looking through a glasses-on-a-stick-thing. (That indicates wealth.) Mrs Jamieson wears silks and bright stripes and doesn't have her frock crumpled because she has her own carriage. Many of the Cranford ladies - Miss Pole in particular - are envious of her silks. But then they'd rather die than admit it.
Does her dog have a name? Is it mentioned? Because if it's not mentioned, I'm calling him/her
Bernadette. It just seems to fit. #random.
Enough about the 'older ladies of Cranford' now. At this rate I will be typing away at this review all week! (It's taken up my whole morning already. Heh.) Now I will talk about Miss Mary Smith. Who has an adorable crooked smile, odd spectacles, two dresses and who's an absolute
peach. Mary is, in my opinion, the heroine of the story.
It is Mary who solves the whole Valentine-Mr-Harrison-sent-to-Caroline-error. She writes to Jack Marshland. She goes to the Tompkinsons to explain.
It is Mary who writes to Major Gordon to tell him that dear Jessie Brown regrets turning him down. It is Mary who asks him to bring home Peter Jenkins.
Mary's a GOOD sort. She deserved some kind of a reward.
We all wish these two got married. But
Return to Cranford hints otherwise. I'm not a huge fan of
Return to Cranford. I prefer to stick with simply
Cranford. I LIKE RtC, and Tom Hiddleston is adorable in it, but
Cranford is indubitably better. In my opinion, that is.
ANYWAY. Now we had a picture of Jack Marshland, I suppose I may address him. He ANNOYS ME SOOOOO MUCH, except in the last episode. I like him in the last episode. I even think he's handsome in the last episode. But I really really DO NOT like the fella in other episodes. He's just a nuisance, and I don't like his singing 'talent.'
Mr Carson Captain Brown was a very good sort of character - he really MEANT so well. His sideburns are dreadfully huge, but he wears them well. And I love his line; "I defy you not to roar."
Moving on, there's the Mr-Carter-and-Harry plot, which was a plot I really enjoyed, despite the fact that Lady Ludlow is often involved in it. (I don't like the said lady. Scroll up for my explanation if you skimmed it earlier on.) I love Mr Carter. He barks a bit sometimes, but he never bites. He has a good heart. AND HE BROUGHT MISS GALINDO FLOWERS. That kind of was kind of cute.
I LOOOVE how he takes care of Harry. He's doing a million times better job than Mr Gregson's doing, just sayin'.
Harry was such a good lad. The way he said 'Dada' instead of 'Daddy' was kind of aggravating, but at least he didn't say Par, like Laura Timmins does. Dada sounds slightly cute, and Par does not.
I was very impressed with the acting of the boy who acted Harry; especially when he read the poem in front of a certain dead body and then cried while reading it. That made ME cry. Well, thanks.
Harry was adorable and had far too much responsibility for a boy his age. I loved him. "Just a sixpence then. Sorry sir." (And the smile Harry smiles after this line is so adorable I could eat it.)
OH. AND WE HAVE JULIA SAWALHA. I love this actress so much. I don't know why, there's just something about her that makes me so fun to watch, giggly role, wise role or 'sad' role. Jessie Brown's an absolutely sweet-heart, and my heart always beats a little faster when a gentleman's voice joins hers while she sings
Loch Lomond for the second time.
SHE SO DESERVED THAT ADORABLE HUG. Ahhhh. *wipes happy tear* I'm sure she and Major Gordon had a lovely married life together, in India, overseas, or wherever.
I also loved seeing Julia Sawalha in 'the making of Cranford', in which she said, "I love costume dramas. I just find it all really thrilling, because I just love dressing up. It's as simple and shallow as that." (I would be exactly the same, if
I got a chance to be in a Period Drama.)
While Martha was a bit annoying sometimes, I
looooooved her and Jem together. (Haha, I wrote Jam first. You know, like the spread.) Jem is such a good sort. I like Jem. I love Jem.
I like Dr Harrison too - I like him more every time I watch
Cranford, actually. Still though, he's not in my list of 'favourite Period Drama gentlemen.' I don't love him to bits - nor do I think he's really terribly handsome. (He's not badlooking, though. I love his blue eyes. And compared to his role as Mr Bingley, he's IS terribly handsome.)
But yes, Dr Harrison is a good man. I feel SO SO SO sorry for him at the end of episode four. LIKE SO SORRY. I even added him to my post '
Seven Period Drama Characters I feel Sorry For.'
Sophie Hutton was an absolute SWEETHEART, on top of being gorgeous and having the most pretty silky blonde hair I've ever seen. (And I want that blue dress. And her room. Just look how adorable everything about her is.) I love Sophie so much, I think we could be great friends. (Let's meet up, Sophie. I'll come to England, or you come to Belgium? You choose.) She takes such good care of her family, and she's just so SWEET. No wonder Dr Harrison fell in love.
I WAS rather disappointed that Sophie didn't THINK for a moment, about Dr Harrison. Does she not trust him? Can she really see the man she loves proposing to two other women? Anyway.
Helen and Lizzie Hutton TOTALLY deserve a paragraph of their own, because they absolutely saved their sister's life by running to Dr Harrison's house and tell him to come. I have to say though, when Helen (the brunette - the queen of the May Day) yells, 'What would mother say?' to Lizzie, who's running ahead... isn't their mother dead? Is that an error? (I hope so. I love spotting errors. I feel very clever doing so, and I rarely feel clever. :-P)
Anyway, yay for Lizzie and Helen. I love you girls.
This is probably my favourite scene EVER EVER. Ughhhh. THESE TWO ARE DISGUSTINGLY ADORABLE. I am going to go through all my favourite Sophie-Dr Harrison scenes. No, I'm going to go through all the Sophie-Dr Harrison scenes. Period. (
Spoiler ahoy.)
1. SO. When they meet first. Practically love at first sight, but it's ADORABLE and it's WELL DONE. Dr Harrison is young and charming, and wears a red coat, Sophie is blissfully gorgeous with her blue dress and yellow curls. Plus she takes such good care of Walter, and she brings him cherries.
JUST AWW.
2. Then he buys a rake and a purple gloves, just so he can say hello to Sophie in the shop. (That always reminds me of Matthew Cuthbert buying a rake and twenty pounds of brown sugar.)
3. Then they have these adorable cute moments at Lady Ludlow's garden party. Mainly just smiles and talking-with-or-about-Walter, but still really, really cute.
4. AND THEN THE BLESSED LITTLE BOY WALTER DIES AND IT'S HEARTBREAKING. They have a little break-up. Just a tiny one. It's a very sad break-up.
5. But then it's
Valentine's day. And Sophie receives flowers with 'the compliments of Dr Harrison.' Much to the delight of Lizzie and Helen (who I love because they ship the two of them from the start.)
6. And THEEEEN. Dr Harrison goes to talk with Sophie's father, Reverend Hutton (who's annoying as well as nice), and that makes their romance kind of official.
7. They have an adorable walk in the garden. And they don't even hold hands because Reverend Hutton is probably looking at them secretly through the window.
8. Dr Harrison watched Sophie teach a group of black-cladded girls to dance for May Day, and he falls all over in love with her again. He hoped for a private ride with her, but alas, Lizzie and Helen must go as well. Then have an ADORABLE talk between blue bells (gahhh) and they ALMOST kiss. (It got interrupted before it began by two said sisters.)
9. At least that date ended with adorable giggles and laughs.
10. But THEN. Bam bam bam. There's the scandal. And all hopes and dreams are shattered to pieces. But Sophie's illness is a blessing in disguise, Dr Harrison saves her life just like a hero must, and before we know it...
THEY ARE MARRIED.
(
Spoilers over. Kind of.) We all know that Sophie and Dr Harrison WILL get married. That's not a spoiler. So bask in the gorgeous screencaps of their wedding. I LOVE THEIR WEDDING.
Sophie, clad in Miss Matty's muslin from India (am I the only one who finds it really weird how Miss Matty and Sophie suddenly seem like best friends in the end?), makes the most STINKING GORGEOUS AND ADORABLE BRIDE EVER. And Dr Harrison wears a blue coat, which becomes him exceedingly well. (I love this couple.)
Is not their wedding adorable?!!! The smiles and the HAPPINESS and the Cranford-ness. I love it to biiiiits. (And you can spot Jessie on Major Gordon's arm in the back, and Jack and Mary grinning to each other, and Mrs Rose on Doctor Morgan's arm. (Mrs Rose chose the good doctor the second time.)) I let the pictures do all the talking. I'll hush up.
And now I sign off with one last picture. To say goodbye.
Have you seen Cranford?
What do you think of it?
PS. Oh, is this movie suitable for children? Well, yes. There's a scary amputation scene - we just turned off the sound for a few seconds (movies without sounds aren't scary at all) - and then there's the scene where Jem gets wounded. His wounds look very scary, but it's not filmed up close. We watched it with the whole family.
