David Copperfield (1999)

 

David Copperfield lives a nearly idyllic existence with his beautiful mother Clara and their housekeeper Peggotty. His life changes forever when his mother re-marries. Mr. Murdstone is a no-nonsense businessman and a strict disciplinarian who believes in corporal punishment. David is soon sent to a strict boarding school but when his mother dies, his stepfather sends him to London to work in a foul smelling factory. He forms a close friendship with Mr. Micawber and moves in with the man and his loving family but as the Micawbers are forced by circumstance to relocate, he seeks out his aunt Betsey Trotwood. She sends him to fine school and he lodges with Mr. Wickfield and his daughter Agnes. As he grows older David is apprenticed to a law firm where he soon meets the senior partner's daughter, Dora. Life's challenges continue to confront him but with the help of friends and family, he overcomes adversity including his aunt's loss of her savings, the death of his wife and the satisfaction of seeing the conniving Uriah Heep sent to a penal colony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy! :) xx

Our Mutual Friend (1998)

The tongues of London high society gossips begin to wag when John Harmon --a young man whose inheritance depended on his marrying a woman he had never met-- is found dead in the River Thames. The fortune passes into the hands of the working-class Boffins, who take into their new home both Bella Wilfer (Harmon's would-be bride), and a mysterious secretary known as Rokesmith. Meanwhile, Lizzie Hexam, the daughter of the boatman suspected of Harmon's murder, is pursued by two suitors: obsessive and self-righteous Bradley Headstone and roguish and lethargic Eugene Wrayburn. An expansive and varied cast of characters create an epic intertwining tale.

I own Our Mutual Friend on DVD. I love everything about it! I love the Bella/John relationship! Another period drama to watch over and over again! Highly recommend it! :) xx


A Room With A View (1985)

It's the Edwardian era. The Honeychurches - Marian Honeychurch and her two just of age children Lucy Honeychurch and Freddy Honeychurch - are a carefree and fun-loving family that live in the country town of Summer Street, Surrey. Regardless, Lucy is a proper young woman. Some can tell by the way she plays Beethoven on the piano that there is a seething passion underneath her proper demeanor. She and her older cousin, her chaperon Charlotte Barlett, who is officious in a slyly undermining way, travel to Florence, Italy for a week-long respite. The Pensione Bertolini where they are staying is popular among British tourists. Among the disparate group of other British guests at the pensione are a Mr. Emerson, who Charlotte considers vulgar because of his forwardness, and his son, the bright but brooding George Emerson. As their stay progresses, George feels that Italian life is opening his eyes to what is important in life, and he feels the same is happening to Lucy. On a group outing, an incident occurs which both Charlotte and Lucy consider improper, which leads to the two leaving Italy early and heading back to England. Shortly thereafter, Lucy gets engaged to the upper crust and passionless Cecil Vyse. And Mr. Emerson moves to Summer Street, with George visiting on the weekends. As George befriends the Honeychurches, Lucy begins to tell a series of lies, mostly to herself, about what and who she really wants for and in her life.

 

 

I LOVE A Room With A View!  Everything about it is lovely!  A very relaxing film and I love Lucy and George! ;)  xx

Bright Star (2009)

London 1818: a secret love affair begins between 23 year-old English poet, John Keats (Ben Whishaw), and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish), an out-spoken student of high fashion. This unlikely pair begin at odds, he thinking her a stylish minx, while she was unimpressed not only by his poetry but also by literature in general.

However, when Fanny heard that Keats was nursing his seriously ill younger brother, her efforts to help touched Keats and when she asked him to teach her about poetry he agreed. The poetry soon became a romantic remedy that worked not only to sort their differences, but also to fuel an impassioned love affair.

When Fanny's alarmed mother and Keats' best friend finally awoke to their attachment, the relationship had an unstoppable momentum. Intensely and helplessly absorbed in each other, the young lovers were swept deeply into powerful new sensations, "I have the feeling as if we're dissolving," Keats wrote to her. Together they rode a wave of romantic obsession that only deepened as their troubles mounted.

 

When Keats fell ill a year later, the two young lovers faced no marriage but separation. In Keats' own poignant words, "forever panting and forever young."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I first saw this film on TV, didn't really think much of it as I wasn't feeling well, so I watched it again on DVD and I really like it. It is very moving and sad. I knew of Keats but I didn't know anything about his relationship with Fanny Brawne at all. I love the music, costumes and the poetry too.  This is a wonderful film! :) xx

 

 

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend (2012)

Eat, drink and have a fantastic Diamond Jubilee weekend!!

Let's all raise a glass to Her Majesty! Long live the Queen! xxxx