The Woman In White - General Discussion

[magdalene]

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Editor's Note:

Discuss The Woman In White Here!

 

Anybody watch the first part of this tonight?  Right away my favorite character is Marian with her common sense, no nonsense attitude.  Charles Dance is in it, doing what he does so well.

[M. Darcy]

I've only been able to watch the first ten minutes so far but Art Malik is also in it so I'm sure the rest will be excellent.  Aw, Jewel in the Crown reunion. 

Heh, though for some reason seeing Peter from EastEnders as Walter was making me laugh (though nothing against Ben Hardy). 

[gingerella]

I lasted 5 minutes. I'm not a fan of these dark, depressing as hell offerings they've put up as of late. Give me opulence, give me depth, give me a wee bit of light too please!

[attica]

I just re-watched The Invisible Woman lately (which is a bio of Charles Dickens's mistress), and in it, Tom Hollander played Colin Wilkie, who was a great friend of Chaz and is the author of TWIW. Also, Michele Fairley played his babymama, and the damsel in distress here is named Fairlie. Lastly, Joanna Scanlon played Mrs. Dickens, and here she is as Mrs. Vesey!  Worlds colliding!!!

I mean, these are all just coincidences, but they're fun!

We will additionally remember Jessie Buckley (Marion) from the big War and Peace, where she also played the sensible sister.

Eta: I liked the detail of Laura having synesthesia (hearing color, in her case). I have it too, it's nice to be represented.

Edited October 24, 2018 by attica

[meep.meep]

Wilkie Collins, not Colin Wilkie

He didn't "believe" in marriage and lived with two women simultaneously.

[AllAboutMBTV]

I've read the book a couple of times, and I can NEVER remember how it ends. So I'm watching this with no idea of the ending (although it may come to me). Basically, I'm watching for Jessie Buckley, whom I enjoyed in War and Peace, and then Charles Dance showed up and then Art Malik did -- a Jewel in the Crown reunion! Except, thinking back, I don't believe Dance and Malik had any scenes together, just a tragic near-miss. Anyway, topic: As opposed to the poster upthread who thought this was too dark, I think it's too bright. In my mind, reading the book, the whole show should largely look dark and dim and dripping rain.

[SilverShadow]

I'm not sure how I feel about this adaptation yet. I like the atmosphere and the casting for Glyde and the Uncle but as with almost every adaption Marian is way too pretty. I'm also not a fan of this version of Laura. In the book she comes off as innocent and even displays traits that feel like they could be consistent with a condition like autism. Here they make a nod to the 'trendy' synaesthesia (Librarians used it a few years ago and Doctor Who recently has as well) and make her a literature expert to add 'depth', Honestly both women are made 'feisty' and 'unconventional' in really blatant non-period accurate ways that kind of rankle, especially with the dialog about men and what they can get away with. It feels way too modern #metoo for the era.  The book already did a great job of showing the injustices of how men could treat women without beating the reader/watcher over the head. It takes away from the Gothic atmosphere to have the characters suddenly talk like it's 2018. As does Laura's terrible wig.

[AllAboutMBTV]

Nothing against the actor, but he is not the Count Fosco that I pictured when I read the book. Mine is much larger -- like Victor Buono (yes, I am old) or Sydney Greenstreet (super-old) -- and much creepier. And where are his little pet canaries and mice that live in his pockets? He's the best character in the book, I think.

[lucindabelle]

I can never remember whether I read this or the moonstone. Must have been the moonstone because I’m so confused. I thought we saw someone being buried- now they say they’re looking for Anne. But can Anne and Laura both be alive?

 

is Anne Percival’s child?

[proserpina65]

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 10:43 PM, lucindabelle said:

I can never remember whether I read this or the moonstone. Must have been the moonstone because I’m so confused. I thought we saw someone being buried- now they say they’re looking for Anne. But can Anne and Laura both be alive?

 

is Anne Percival’s child?

My guess is that Anne is the illegitimate child of Laura's father, which is why she looks so much like Laura.  (I've seen another version of Woman in White, but that was years ago and I don't remember all the details, so this is just a guess, not a spoiler.)

[lucindabelle]

58 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

My guess is that Anne is the illegitimate child of Laura's father, which is why she looks so much like Laura.  (I've seen another version of Woman in White, but that was years ago and I don't remember all the details, so this is just a guess, not a spoiler.)

That might make sense though I'm still missing why it matters so much to Percival. It's heavily implied that Anne's mother cheated with him, but if Anne is his illegitimate daughter tht still doesn't explain why she has to be locked away. The Fairlie brothers and their animus to Laura are weird. Why Dad made that condition and why uncle is so malevolent.

[proserpina65]

12 minutes ago, lucindabelle said:

That might make sense though I'm still missing why it matters so much to Percival. It's heavily implied that Anne's mother cheated with him, but if Anne is his illegitimate daughter tht still doesn't explain why she has to be locked away. The Fairlie brothers and their animus to Laura are weird. Why Dad made that condition and why uncle is so malevolent.

Maybe Anne being outed as Laura's half-sister would affect her inheritance from her father in some way?

[magdalene]

Well, I have watched all the episodes now and besides this show being way too much Gothic melodrama for me it also didn't help that I vastly preferred Marian to the heroine.  Count Fosco was  more interesting in all his cunning malice than the scheming husband.  As played by Dougray Scott he came across as both pathetic and evil at the same time.

[voiceover]

I loved the book until the end, because I held out hope for the obvious romantic conclusion -- for Marian & Walter.  Laura was an insipid weenie, like the pathetic orphan in the Edward Gorey story.  Walter had guts, and Marian was...awesome.  I think the author's deliberately painting her as heavy-browed & dark of complexion was his obvious attempt to throw off the reader.  I thought her sickness was the way she was transformed to his idea of beautiful, and so obviously...

But no.  Great story til then; when her diary was discovered I had to put down the book, I was so terrified!  But no.

So I haven't been able to sit through the adaptations.  And I disagree with calling this Marian attractive.  Eh.  And this Laura? Like those 60s big-eyed paintings.

Apologies.  Been dying to get that off my chest since I first read it, but couldn't find anyone in the book thread to complain to!

[proserpina65]

On ‎11‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 7:25 PM, magdalene said:

Well, I have watched all the episodes now and besides this show being way too much Gothic melodrama for me it also didn't help that I vastly preferred Marian to the heroine.  Count Fosco was  more interesting in all his cunning malice than the scheming husband.  As played by Dougray Scott he came across as both pathetic and evil at the same time.

I've always thought Marian WAS the heroine.  Laura is really a supporting character.  I've seen adaptations (shorter ones) where Laura 'dies' sooner and even more of the focus was on Marian.  I actually appreciated that Percival was a more layered character than usual, and found him more interesting than Count Fosco, but tastes vary.

It did seem like there was a lot crammed into that final episode which could've used more development, but otherwise, for Victorian melodrama, it was entertaining enough.