Parade's End - the reviews and discussion thread

[joyceinva]

OK, I must be in the minority here - I thought Rufus looked adorable. Loved how his wife and Valentine tried to block him from view with those huge flower arrangements. I hope our vicar shows up again.

Overall - I agree the beginning was a bit hard to follow, but I soon got caught up in the story and was able to figure out who was who and what was what. I'm looking forward to the next episode. Speaking of which - is this going to be shown on consecutive nights?

[barbicanbelle]

No it won't be shown on consecutive nights; next episode is next Friday.

[walt]

Aug 24, 2012 21:44:20 GMT barbicanbelle said:

Well weird, don't you think? Guess I'd have to watch it again to understand it better.
Rufus didn't appear in the programme they showed after the episode - shame.

I'm glad I read the book in advance, it was helpful to understand most parts of the plot.

And I second, it's a shame they didn't interview Rufus in the "World of Parade's End". This and the other programs on BBC radio about PE gave me a good impression why this series got so much support from BBC. Nevertheless it hurt a little bit to hear that this was the most expensive TV season BBC ever produced - I had to think about Zen then.
(If I'm mistaken about this, please, let me know - until now I could listen to the radio transmissions only once and I might have got something wrong.)

As to Rufus's performance - he was so brilliant:
Coming into the room rather pale and suffering - and then having one of his fits! And all looking absolutely believable, and not in the least overplayed - another proof of his genuis as an actor!

[Tessa]

I'm glad I recorded it and the program right after it. I still have trouble understanding the story. I love these historical tidbits; why would a servant need a health insurance, if there lord had to pick up the bill anyway or he would face jail time. But why can't the personage that BC played divorce his obviously adulterous wife?

As for Rufus.... now I understand why he is so thin. He looked pale, confused, and with the perfect excuse to say everything that comes to mind.

[kissmekate]

Thanks for the links - I only managed to watch Rufus's appearance and am looking forward to catching up with the whole thing. What an excellent little scene. I wish they'd given him more screen time (or, as the tweeter suggested, a whole film about the mad vicar ;D ) The voice, the looks, the way he moved - he's nailed the character once again

Aug 25, 2012 0:43:16 GMT @joyceinva said:

OK, I must be in the minority here - I thought Rufus looked adorable.

Me too - good to know I'm not alone! (Of course I prefer his normal hairstyle to this, but again, I wish more vicars looked like this! ;D )

[GreenEyesToo]

Aug 25, 2012 6:48:11 GMT walt said:

As to Rufus's performance <.....> all looking absolutely believable, and not in the least overplayed

That, Walt, for me, is the essence of Rufus's talent - he is the absolute master of subtle acting when it's called for in a role. He was so much more effective keeping things quiet and low-key than ranting away. I bet he had great fun with that! ;D (I thought Anne-Marie Duff was very good as his wife, too)

I found the story as a whole intriguing, if confusing. Beautifully filmed, gorgeous costumes, lovely scenery, and I did enjoy it, but I think it will get better as it goes along.

Tessa, re the health insurance: at that time there were the first rumblings of the "Welfare State", where people would contribute through taxation towards health care (and pensions) - probably because the rich employers didn't want to shoulder the burden of it themselves! Schemes like the one mentioned affected relectively few workers then, and for a long time. It wasn't until 1948 that National Insurance (deducted from wages/salary) was introduced.

As to why he wouldn't divorce his wife, those who've read the book will have a better idea, but it may have something to do with the infamous British "stiff upper lip" (putting up with adversity), his sense of duty towards the institution of marriage or due to religious beliefs? The storyline is definitely of its time - it couldn't be set in the 21st century!

[corndolly]

O I DID enjoy that!!! Rufus's vicar was marvellous and my Latin was (more or less) up to following his remarks. IMDB says he's in all 5 episodes and the Radio Times for next week says he's in then. I've pre-ordered the DVD on Amazon - can't wait for it!! I'll have to record the rest of the series and watch it on my free Mondays (providing there's not a rain storm to disrupt the recording as there was last night!). The TV is geared to my very disabled hubby and he's currently in hospital.

[GreenEyesToo]

Sorry to hear about about your hubby, Corndolly, but glad you were able to see PE.

Love this tweet ;D:


The Divine Miss M
@mekkalekkah

Oh my GOD, Rufus Sewell just SAVED THIS ENTIRE SHOW. #paradesend

[lovethemanrs]

Not that I am biased at all, but Rufus made the entire program for me.

The filming is beautiful as is the scenery, but I personally found it rather pedestrian at times.

When that door opened and Rufus appeared, well he stole the show from that point.

The make-up was fantastic. The shortened eyebrows and the pale gaunt face - gave him a slightly sinister appearance. Brilliant.

Mr LTM even commented on how 'good as in bad' they had made him look for the part. He also said Rufus was great in the part, but not on screen long enough. I'm sure we all agree with that!

I adore the way the wife tried to hide him behind the flowers!!! ;D

Poor Rev Duchemin was a very sick man (despite being amusing and paranoid at the same time).

I just wanted to sooth his troubled brow and hug him....

Oh and what a beautiful house.

[kygal]

I could not get it to download last pm. Will try again today. Same problem as Rueful. Hope you hubby gets better Corndolly. Love the twitter attention. Sounds like he did steal the show so far.

[rueful]

Kygal, I couldn't download, but did get to watch streaming on iplayer later in the evening, in the usual way. I hope it works for you.

The episode as a whole was a bit hard to follow, at least at first. I gather that the books were the same way, quite experimental. But I don't mind that in an initial episode--it's setting things up that will be fleshed out in later episodes, and I would rather be challenged than treated like an idiot. The character of the wife is truly horrid at this point, but I tried to remind myself how difficult it must have been to live your life expected to be an ornament. There are more productive ways to rebel (like Valentine's) than just torturing her husband, but maybe she'll redeem herself in future episodes. (Haven't read the books, so I'm allowed to be optimistic! )

Now, for the important part! Rufus was incredible! As you all said--subtle and brilliant, veering between rational and irrational, with just his eyes and voice. The beginning, where he had an expression of quiet pride at his own cleverness at figuring out they were "doctors." The flicker of relief when he remembered who they were. And then seeming to embark on a normal conversation, but instead back to madness. Just great, and much too short a scene. (Sorry to disagree with some of you--it's hard to hide his natural beauty, but I thought he looked like death warmed over. I guess it was the pallor and the circles under his eyes.)

[kitty]

O-M-G! That was hilarious! Too bad his part was so small.

[Petruchio - Good God]

Someone uploaded "Parade's End" in 5 parts -
here' the link for the 4. Part with brilliant Rufus - at 7.25 min. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMB35Y-HPPc

[karatewka]

Thanks, PGG! I think in my country I won't see it soon.

[nell]

So Rufus stole the show again! He errupted onto the screen and the 3 minutes we got were IMHO the very best of the hour long episode.

What a great character - I loved the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Great job Rufus!

I didn't expect the Reverend to look too much of a hottie. My description would be Thamas Clarkson with a haircut

All in all, the episode was essentially an introduction to all the characters. They sure fitted in a fair bit. The storey jumped around a bit but I didn't find it too difficult to follow.
I'll be tuning in next week and keeping everything crossed for a bit more of Reverend Duchemin's brilliance.

I'm not convinced by IMDB that Rufus will be in all the episodes though. They stated the same for Pillars and we know he wasn't in every ep of that.

Edited to add - thanks for the screencaps PGG