One of writer and director Poliakoff's many skills lies in his ability to chart the twists and turns of a disparate group in a rapidly changing period - from 1981 through to the dot com boom and bust of the late nineties. Like many of his dramas - which I am only just discovering in this excellent new season on BBC2 of old and new works - it spins a long, rambling yarn which promises the viewer ever greater revelations if you stick with it.
Whether it delivers on those promises is open to debate, and I expect depends a great deal on the viewe's predisposition for intriguing stories which are more verbal and anecdotal than visual or action-based.
That said, the repeated use of enormous old stately homes and sprawling mansion gardens provides ample space for what is clearly the director's soft spot for the visual splendour of the architecture of old wealth and class, and the history bound up there.
These cinematic shots are the perfect accompaniment to Poliakoff's choice of fresh, uplifting and inspiring compositions. Somehow they manage to simultaneously communicate both wonderful expectations for a spectacular future as well as a deeply nostalgic yearning for days gone by. And seeing as the narrative in Friends and Crocodiles jumps by up to eight years forward at a time, with old friends reuniting after such a long time, Poliakoff keeps piling on the nostalgia in heavy, sagging dollops. It's quite extraordinarily emotional viewing, without ever revealing why or how it is affecting you in the way it is.
I am looking forward to Monday's Capturing Mary, which promises all the beguiling miscomfort of its half-sister/semi-prequel Joe's Palace. Not for the impatient viewer, mind.
P.S. Jodhi May is fantastic, how come I've never heard of her before?
Saturday, 10 November 2007
Stephen Poliakoff season on BBC2
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3 comments:
Don't know why you've never heard of Jodhi before. She's been acting since she was 12 and won a Best Actress award at Cannes for her first film role in “A World Apart”. Remember “The Last of the Mohicans” where the character of Alice Munro jumps to her death from the cliff? That was Jodhi in one of her earlier roles. She can currently be seen on Masterpiece Theatre in the U.S. in “The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard” as the character Miranda Lennox. This was shown in the U.K. last year. She is very talented. But check out her filmography here because she has a long list of credits over the past 19 years: http://www.us.imdb
here! Here! Jodhi May is excellent. I hope that now you have found her, you will check some more of her work out. Her newest work will be on the Street series 2 finale (Dec 13th, I think). So, that's a good place to start...
Or, as melehi says, check out some of her older work too. AWA is great as well as Sister, My Sister. And, if you ever get the chance, don't pass up a chance to see her on stage. She is intense and phenomenal.
And, if you really want more just Jodhi May, rent the Friends and Crocodiles dvd. On that, JM does a very rare thing for her to do-- she provides commentary. Otherwise, visit the http://jodhimaydomain.us for info on her.
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