This feels much more realistically messy than nearly going only one way or the other.īy contrast, the ulterior motive possibilities obsess her family members, notably her two sons and ex-husband, who consistently mansplain Julia's own emotions to her throughout. I loved watching Julia blossom and accept herself in the warmth of Benjamin's affection for her, yet struggles with doubting him nevertheless. Without giving anything at all away, I was struck by the similarities between Benjamin visiting Julia's lovely Devon home and Elizabeth Bennett opening up to Mr. I appreciated that the story made it quite believable that a younger, handsome man would find more than money to love and desire in Julia, yet still played up the possibilities that run rampant in people's minds when they see the pair. Of course the enticing tidbit is the older woman - younger man relationship at the heart of the story, but it is not portrayed in a crass way, nor are its challenges minimized.Īt heart it is a story about Julia, who has been taken advantage of, overlooked, and neglected (to say the least), not only by her friends and family, but society at large, and to some extent, even herself. I've watched the series now several times, and I always find new bits that fit into the whole of the story in subtle and intelligent ways. Marnie Dickens' screenplay functions almost as a piece of literature. Flashbacks provide glimmers of a traumatic past that underlies the complicated psychological dynamics evident. The production quality is lovely, with beautiful locations.Įach episode highlights one of the individuals in Julia's life, bringing layered understanding of the complex histories that lock all of the characters together. The rest of the cast is quite good, with Nikki Amuka-Bird and Alex Jennings the stand outs for me. Julia Ormond, as always, is flawless, this time as the traditional mom facing a forced change in her life, then encountering an unexpected boon in the form of the handsome new boyfriend. This series is vastly underrated and not much on people's radar in any case, however, it is a fascinating character portrait of an entire family plus the young man who enters into the divorcee mom's romantic life.īen Barnes delivers a fine performance, leaving me guessing throughout the series as to his intentions due to the deft ambiguity with which he endows every scene. I watched this on a free trial of Acorn TV, then purchased it on Prime Video. More than once I found myself saying, "are people REALLY THAT "dumb" or "pathetic" or "inconsistent"? However, portrayals therefore provide a few laughs for viewers along with our head-shaking, eye-rolling responses. Not enough episodes to get boring or bizarre.Īre some characters.overdrawn? Maybe. That's the theme of this 6-part British series. Today, we call it "baggage," but in the 20th century there was no word for it because nobody wanted to talk about it. Until recently, I don't think TV series and movies portrayed the damage childhood traumas of long ago inflict on lives of present-day adults. You know: the PSYCHIC violence siblings and parents, other assorted spouses and partners inflict on each other. There's plenty of the other kind, though. In fact, there's almost NO violence depicted in the movie. The domestic drama is realistic in that nobody gets a chainsaw and starts ripping siblings or parents apart.
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