North & South (2004)

An Exercise In Nonsense

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Let me just begin by pointing out how some people avoid period dramas because they are fraught with misery & dejecting circumstances. And how these moments of loss & sadness are the priceless backbone for life on the stage & beyond. Sadness teaches us all the importance of that which has more value than money can accommodate for. And it is perhaps the only instance where emotion & thought are in agreement! There are no conflicts. And this symbiotic peace is demonstrated flawlessly in many period dramas; North & South is no exception. No! In fact, it IS the exception! It is the one rare instance where love itself is treated as a loss on two persons throughout the program! And it is done so very well! Even more impressive is how the couple are aware of this irony by the final chapter & how they manage to keep it both romantic & elementary in the consummation of their relationship! So very charming! I envy such a take on love!! I don't know.. who'd be a bachelor! OK. So the production isn't anything particularly spectacular, the score can get in the way sometimes but is overall very fitting, the scenery isn't specifically cinematic, & the dialogue is hardly prose. Just because this has a high rating doesn't mean it is a premium production. But what it does have is fine character screen play, & competent acting of a well paced narrative. It doesn't grab your attention as prompt as Cranford say. It takes its' time & draws you in at a steady rate. The third episode really takes hold. I'd like to admit that I tend to have a real struggle where "strong independent women" are concerned. I hate how they are written (by men half the time) as tough girls who show no fear, confusion, compassion & merely act like.. well.. men. Margaret Hale, to me, is the perfect example of the superior traits that women have. Brave in the presence of fear, responsible during a loss, hopeful when despair is abound, wholehearted against the cold hearted, well spoken when tensions are high, outspoken when emotions are low, & utterly fervent. Something that is entirely lost upon Hollywood. Their women shall be doing roundhouse kicks in skimpy skirts 20 years to come. Something has to be said about the lead couple. Both of them are flawless! I can see how the ladies take to Richard Armitage! Wow! Talk about sex appeal!! Every time he's on screen, I give him my full attention as though he commands it! And Daniela Denby-Ashe is transformed into her headstrong counterpart. A great pair with lots of chemistry. North & South shall surprise you from start to end with it's social commentary & keep hopeless romantics like myself happily transfixed! Give it a go.

Powerful, brilliant, captivating adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's masterpiece. The casting is perfect. Each and every actor is where he/she is meant to be. The atmosphere, the spirit are delivered perfectly.Richard Armitage....well, there's no need to say anything. He is The One and Only Mr.Thornton ever :) He seems to step down from the pages of the novel.Daniela Danby-Ashe as Margaret is so breathtakingly beautiful, you can't take your eyes off her luminous face as if chiselled of marble. But her play even more so betters her beauty.And - by the way - the music is outstanding! Enchanting and beautiful, very genuinely creating the atmosphere. The only flaw of the film is that they - for some reason - cut out few of the most crucial dialogs/lines between the leading characters. Well, they are not cut out entirely, but thoroughly changed, and, though are pretty fine in their own merit, would be much better for them to be the exact quotations from the novel. For example the scene of the first proposal and the final scene of reaching the understanding between John Thornton and Margaret. These scenes were made wonderfully....but - if the film-makers followed exactly the dialogs as they were put in the book (especially Thornton's lines and expressive manner) - it would be by far more perfect and breathtaking than it already is. So, my vote "9", not "10" - for these little but crucial (from my point of view) alterations from the original dialogs of the book.

What a wonderful adaptation of this classic tale. The acting was superb and made me an instant fan of Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage both of which whose acting made the love story come alive for me. The supporting staff was also superb, especially Sinéad Cusack, Anna Martin, Brendan Coyle, Tim Pigott-Smith, and John Light. I was surprised to learn that this story was originally written by Elizabeth Gaskell in the 1800's. And that Dicken was her editor, making it a true classic tale. The storyline was so well adapted by Sandy Welch who writes many of the best adaptations of classics available today, including Emma, and my favorite version of Jane Eyre. I loved the progression of the relationship between John Thornton, and Margaret Hale, two people from different social backgrounds who in the beginning didn't understand each other, to their gradual respect of each other and eventual love. Richard Armitage, did such a good job as John, his ability to go from strong and powerful, to insecure and loving (it was such good acting on his part). After seeing him in this role I know I would love to see him play Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights (for which he would be perfect). He has that kind of dynamic personality and such a range of acting ability. I know him from MI-5 (Spooks in the UK), and from the Hobbit.... but the North and the South is his greatest role to date. I just want more of him in love stories! The same is true of the beautiful Daniela Denby- Ashe, I know I must have seen her in other roles, but she dominates this role completely. Her acting is wonderful and so believable that it takes you right into the era she was portraying. She is so beautiful with those expressive eyes and perfect mouth and so talented an actress. I was surprised I hadn't seen her in more lead movie roles. She definitely belongs up there with the best of actresses of her day. The story North and South was really interesting, showing the lives of the mill workers, and the gentry of the day. Their lives were so strikingly different and so complexly intertwined. The story also showed how the industrial revolution changed forever the future of so many, expanding the wealth of the merchant class, the laborers and the initiating the decline of the English aristocracy. Today we still live in economies defined by the industrial revolution of that day, although, I do believe it is time for another economic revolution. A revolution to create an economic system that would support the technology advances of our time (The need for less human labor and more sharing of the wealth that technological advances affords us). Just as in the past when Unionization ensured labor a voice in defining the business norms of that day, and the social structures that grew up around it. The activism shown in the labor movement of that time is still needed in today's complex global economy. I see the laborers in China, India and in third world countries still battling for the same rights won by the mill workers of that era. Therefore, I think this story is still relevant to the world we live in. Modern industrialized countries need better ways to manage and maintain the gains won in the past by workers, and emerging economies are still battling the same problems. I could get on my soap-box but really what makes this story work is the classic love story and the dichotomy of rich and poor of that day. In terms of the love story, Thornton (Richard Armitage) makes a most handsome lover, strong and tall, tender and love stricken, conflicted by the belief that he is not worthy of his feelings for Margaret (Daniela). Margaret is a woman worthy of his love, honorable to a fault with a social consciousness that enlightens Thornton beliefs. She is the kind of woman who could make him fulfill his potential as a man. You get glimpses of his potential in moments like when he is educating the observers at the exposition, and when he takes on Higgins(Brendan) and begins to relate to his worker's plight. His relationship with his Mother(Sinéad) shows glimpses of his humanness, vulnerability and insecurities as opposed to the strength he shows in his work world. For Margaret you see her grow up from the girl who grew up in relative comfort of the south. Who was not ready to love (especially poor Henry Lennox who loved her to the end) to someone who's social consciousness defined her and all around her. She goes from disliking the man she see's beating up a worker for smoking in the mill, to valuing his industriousness and integrity. To realizing how much she admires and misses him when separated. I just love that last scene where the both long for each other believing they will never see each other again, to meeting by accident at the rail station, and touching and kissing for the first time.. It left me longing for a sequel (well, I'd like to see more of their relationship develop, with the eventual conflicts that are abound to happen when they marry.. ). All I can say is that it's a wonderful mini-series.. Buy it, view it, love it.

I'm almost ashamed to say that I did not like N&S very much after first watching it. Back then I probably compared it directly to the eternal BBC "Pride&Prejudice" - my period-drama-gateway-drug. Maybe I also watched the (german)synchronised version and that's never as good as the original - I don't remember. So the DVD was ignored for years. BUT THEN one day I watched it again (and numerous times since ;) and was very surprised that I found it truly engaging and very, very romantic. So it may be worth to give it another chance and (to all Germans:) pleeeaaaase, whenever possible watch it in the English original. I think everything else is already said in all the other review. I only want to point out that E. Gaskells work can't and shouldn't be directly compared to Jane Austens work (which I LOVE!). Gaskell emphasizes strongly on social issues and the story is told from different points of view. I also read the book by now and found it a little difficult.It's not a mere love story but focuses also on the above metioned social issues.But once I got into that, I really enjoyed it. And I like the story especially for the fact that we also learn about how John Thorton feels and thinks. Still, I probably would not have read the book unless I had seen the series before. So I'm, glad I did....