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Reviews
A Taste for Death (1988)
The best in the Dalgliesh- series!
I must say that of all the PD James series this one is the best. They are all very well done and believable, but in my opinion " A Taste Of Death" is absolutely fabulous in every way. The storyline, each actor fit their parts and you get deeper inside of the individual people in this story than in the others, although Roy Marsden &co does a fine job in all of the stories. And at last, the story is more exciting, complex and at the same time more entertaining than in the others. Roy Marsden is perfect as the brooding, sensitive, aloof, always somewhat reserved, yet very compassionate Adam Dalgliesh. In the earlier stories he was, perhaps somewhat more tensed and if not really callous but somehow more on his guard and a bit edgy, even if it seemed to depend on the fact that the personal chemistry between him and with the younger, more adolescently arrogant and less tactful inspector Massingham did not work at all or were at least very forced most times. His chemistry with the lovely Penny Downie's Kate Miskin is much better and he is of course in this story quite personally involved with the troubles of the complex, deep, sensitive and enigmatic ex- minister Paul Berowne( lovely interpreted by the seldom seen actor Bosco Hogan.) The legendary Wendy Hiller with her theatrical, nasal voice was a classic actress, good in every part she played. Especially here and in "Murder on the orient express". So is Matthew Marsh as the in the same time sensitive and cunning, mentally delicate murderer, Dominic Swayne with a typical Dr Jekyll/ Mr Hyde- like personality- split. Enchanting is also the cold and rather calculating Barbara Berowne like she was played by the lovely- featured Fiona Fullerton, who had a small part in a Bond- film. Simon Ward was also very believable as the unscrupulous, upper- class gynecologist, the nearly satanically cynical, Stephen Lampart. The priest, Emily Wharton, Darren, Paul Berowne's daughter, Sarah and her black-curly- haired political activist/ terrorist fiancée are all excellent and plausible in characterization, but I wonder if the highest praise must go to an utterly colorful, comic, yet tragic and rather dominating minor- role. I am speaking of course of Gabrielle Lloyd's wonderful interpretation of the whimsical, bitter housemaid, Evelyn "Mattie" Matlock. It is seldom that I've enjoyed to see a role as much as hers. She was a comic relief in this story with her quivering body language, her rather awful 1950's hairstyle snapping and snarling at everyone except to her equally unstable and pitiful lover, the murderer himself. Once she even nearly attacked someone with a knife in a moment one almost thought she was a murderess. And her final corrosive fit of rage at the Berowne drawing- room when one almost thought she would kill Lady Ursula or anyone of them, before she burst ed in to a heart-aching cry and it became obvious how used and mistreated that poor woman was. I give a 10 to her for acting! One more part was also unforgettable to me. It was the divinely beautiful Rebecca Saire and her interpretation of the sad, quiet, sensitive, intellectual, moral, but troubled and emotive "femme fatal" Theresa Nolan. Her rather small, but tragic role did linger unforgettable in my mind because of her intensive stage- presence accompanied by the effective combination of her ethereal beauty and suggestive, soulful eyes and her low, quiet and at the same time fragile speaking voice when she expressed her emotions and thoughts- also worth a 10 of acting. It's also a mystery to me that Rebecca Saire with her beauty somewhere between Jane Seymour and Meryl Streep did not have many roles neither on TV or in film. It's a masterpiece, a drama-thriller, a soap- opera, a black comedy, an ancient tragedy- all in one. And the end line to Kate Miskin by Adam Dalgliesh is so true: "In a murder- case there is always more than one victim". The only- or fault is that it ends. One would like to know what happened to the persons involved in the story, next! Who took care of Barbara and Paul Berownes child? How did Darrens life turn out and Emily Whartons? Did Father Barnes recover and return to the church? Did poor Mattie at last receive a bit happiness in her life? Did Kate Miskin marry Alan Scully? What about poor Swayne, did he lose his mind forever? A great story, anyhow and a great inspire to me, who also write stories.
East of Eden (1981)
Wonderful masterpiece
Wonderful masterpiece! This miniseries made after John Steinbeck's novel was first send in Sweden at the spring of 1983. It changed my life. It hasn't come in my opinion a more ravishing and fascinating TV- miniseries as this. A perfect and genial version by a wonderful book and very true to the story. All the actors are fantastic in their roles, but no-one could be more mesmerizing than Jane Seymour as Cathy Ames. An utterly unstable, dangerous, anti-social, paranoid schizophrenic female character that combined with Jane Seymours ethereal, fairy-like beauty and hypnotic, at times mad eyes makes the performance eerie and believable. It must have been a very difficult role to play, considering the characterization of a persona with no spine, no personality/ or a split personality, a non-existent or very low conscience and emotional intelligence to boot which made her although murderously dangerous in the same time the most pitiful and mentally troubled girl not only in this story, but to ever find in literature. She sure didn't have a clue of where she was coming from, or where she was heading. A complete mystery both to herself as well as to other people. Although genetic factors undeniably play in in such cases, did in my opinion the upbringing still have some negative influences, as well on Cathy's life. Her mother (played of Grace Zabriskie) was, although not a lunatic like her daughter a rather manipulative, sanctimonious woman who hated men and certainly was partly responsible of the deranged picture of men, that she inflicted on the young Cathy. The father was conscientious and honest, but weak and dominated by his hypocritical and neurotic wife. They of course didn't deserve the horrible fate they received, but in some point they did let Cathy down (well the mother did at least.) Unfortunately psychology was not a well- developed science at that time. I seem to recall two scenes where Cathy clearly showed some, though weak conscience. First, when she tried to tell her mother that she wasn't forced by the boys to expose herself, but her hysterical and calculating mother wouldn't listen to the truth. And second, when she almost confessed to her son that she "punished" her parents. And of course at the end when to see Aron touched a nerve of bad conscience quite clearly, even in her! Poor woman! Although mean-spirited, witch-likely cunning, still pitiful and her own worst enemy in her totally paranoid and distrusting ways. Yes, it's a masterpiece in every essence of the word and how deranged and crazy it sounds- I think she might love both Adam& Charles in her own way. It's just that that her love was completely unpredictable and could turn to hatred in the most lenient of criticism or demand. So fragile was her picture of her self and so shattered as the true antisocial paranoid schizo she seemed to be.