Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now

Starring:Matthew Macfadyen, Paloma Baeza, Cheryl Campbell, Shirley Henderson, Douglas Hodge, Cillian Murphy, Miranda Otto, David Bradley (IV), Tony Britton, Rob Brydon, Allan Corduner, Joanna David, Michele Dotrice, David Suchet, Anne-Marie Duff, Oliver Ford Davies, Maxine Peake, Michael Riley, Helen Schlesinger, Stuart McQuarrie
Director: David Yates (II)
Studio: BBC Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
First screened on BBC in 2001, The Way We Live Now will surprise those who know Anthony Trollope through the subtleties of his Barsetshire novels. This story of ambition centers around Augustus Melmotte, an Austrian Jewish financier who takes the London money markets and social scene by storm in his efforts to become an "English country gentleman." His rise and fall is followed with remorseless logic by Trollope, and David Yates's direction keeps this in focus against a wealth of subplots and character interaction.

The cast is a strong one, with David Suchet's Melmotte gripping in his recklessness, climaxing in the theatrical magnificence of his departure in disgrace from the House of Commons. Shirley Henderson is magnetic as his put-upon daughter Marie, courted by the cream-of-society bachelors for her dowry rather than her person. Cheryl Campbell gives a good account of the feckless Lady Carbury, writing vacuous novels to support her family, with Matthew MacFadyen relishing the part of her rakish son, Felix. Paloma Baeza is sympathetic as her daughter, Hetta, whose on-off relationship with entrepreneur Paul Montague, ably taken by Cillian Murphy, provides the main love interest. Douglas Hodge impresses as the loyal and sincere but insipid Roger Carbury.

The series consists of four generous episodes, each lasting 75 minutes. This is an absorbing production of what isn't the most subtle of Victorian novels, but which surely remains among the most relevant. --Richard Whitehouse
Video Description
The Way We Live Now captures the turmoil as the old order is swept aside by the brash new forces of business and finance. Based on the novel by Anthony Trollope, this satire of Victorian society contains all the dynamic elements that made him one of the most celebrated and popular novelists of his day--the trials and tribulations of young love, the pettiness of the upper class life, the raw energy and excitement of the most powerful city the world had ever seen, and the greed and corruption that lay just below its glittering surface.

Episode 1: When infamous financier Augustus Melmotte (David Suchet) mysteriously appears in London, the city's impoverished aristocrats greedily court his favor. Felix Carbury, a charming but lazy young baronet, is one of the many gentlemen swarming around Melmotte's rich heiress daughter, Marie. Meanwhile, Felix's independently minded sister, Hetta, falls in love with a bright young engineer, Paul Montague, who is in town to approach Melmotte with an ambitious business propostion. Complications soon arise in business and love.

Episode 2: While Paul Montague throws himself into the booming railway business with Melmotte, the presence of his mysterious American friend in London threatens to jeopardize his chances with Hetta. Felix is forced to desperate measures to secure his future with Marie when he learns that her father is planning her marriage to a rival suitor.

Episode 3: Paul visits Mexico to have his worst fears about the railway construction confirmed. Returning to London he decides to confront Melmotte and resolve his romantic situation. Melmotte involves himself in increasingly ambitious business schemes while Felix gets himself into further trouble and Hetta recieves some devastating news.

Description

The Anthony Trollope Collection contains three masterpieces and over 15 hours of timeless film from one of the greatest nineteenth-century novelist. Visit the fascinating world of Victorian England through the eyes of Anthony Trollope, as the prolific and respected novelist illustrates the penetrating conflicts of the day.

Customer Reviews:

Shared Pleasure.......2007-06-11

The Barchester Chronicles was interesting and in some of the episodes fasinating and engrossing. A good movie.

Great Renditions of Stories Ahead of Their Time.......2007-02-20

Anthony Trollope was remarkable, a man who understood feminist issues before there was a name for them. His female characters are often strong and sympathetic, and his insight into social issues made his novels more than ordinary potboilers. I do prefer the novels, where Trollope's wit and sometimes snide observations give depth to every scene. But every one of these elegantly filmed stories offers a long, luxurious look into a world long gone, and is perfect for a long lounge before the fire on a dismal day.

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