Possession-Book And Movie Review

The most thrilling love stories are often the most mysterious and the most dangerous.

A.S. Byatt’s 1991 novel, Possession, is about love that is both mysterious and forbidden.

In Victorian England, Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte are poets who are embarking on an affair. He is married and she has settled into a comfortable life with her longtime companion.  In the late 1980’s, Dr. Maud Bailey and Roland Michell are academics who are separately studying the lives and literature of Ash and LaMotte.  They come together to complete their research and begin to build a relationship, but must protect the research when a rival seeks to claim the information they have discovered for his own.

In 2002, Possession was made into a movie with Jeremy Northam as Ash, Jennifer Ehle as LaMotte, Gwyneth Paltrow as Maud and Aaron Eckhart as Roland.

The book is excellent, through it is tedious at points. The movie, for obvious reasons (if you know me well enough or your a frequent visitor to my blog, you would know why) is enjoyable.

I recommend both.

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Flashback Friday- TV Edition- 80’s Babies Remember-Faerie Tale Theatre (1982-1987) & Jem (1985-1988)

I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately about simpler times.

That bring me to the subject of this Flashback Friday Post.

Faerie Tale Theatre

Hosted by Shelley Duvall, this collection of fairy tales was and still is children’s television at it’s best. Containing high production values and acted by some of the best actors in Hollywood, Faerie Tale Theatre still holds up after 30 years. Unlike children’s programming then and now, there was no marketing or selling of merchandise. Just simple story telling that appealed to the entire family.

Jem

Jerrica Benton is the owner of a foster home for young girls. Jerrica is not what she seems. Her earrings, use a holograph transform her and her friends in Jem and the Holograms.

This was 80’s rock star chic for the elementary school set. Looking at it from adult eyes, it looks rather tacky, but back then, this was must see TV.

I feel very old now.

Happy Friday!

Flashback Friday- Meryl Streep Double Feature- The Devil Wears Prada (2006) & Prime (2005)

Meryl Streep is one of those actors.  Every actor, male or female aspires to have her storied career. Intelligent, classy and known for a variety of characters, she continues to surprise the movie going audience after decades on screen.

In the 2000’s, she played two very different, but interesting characters.

In The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep is Miranda Priestly, the editor of Runway Magazine. Ruthless and powerful, Miranda hires Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), a recent college graduate who believes that a temporary position as Miranda’s second assistant will open doors to her dream job as a journalist.  Miranda’s first assistant, Emily (Emily Blunt) is more cynical about the job and their boss. Taking pity on Andy, Nigel (Stanley Tucci) helps her with her wardrobe and her attitude about her job.

Based on the book by Lauren Weisberger, Meryl Streep is terrifying as Miranda. She is the uber boss that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Anne Hathaway as Andy is every recent college graduate, knowing that they need a job, but unsure of the path to find that job. Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, in their respective parts, represent those of us who have been in the work place long enough to develop a cynical, yet appreciative view of our jobs.

In Prime, Rafi  Gardet (Uma Thurman) is reeling from her recent divorce.  In her late 30’s she seeks the help of Dr. Lisa Metzger (Meryl Streep) to be able to move on in her life. At the same time, she meets and starts to see David Bloomberg (Bryan Greenberg), a 23 year old college graduate whose has career aspirations to become a painter.  Rafi starts to open up to Lisa about her May/December romance with David, not knowing that she is talking about Lisa’s son.

This movie has a charm to it. What drives the plot of this movie, besides the May December, inter-religious romance between Rafi and David is the sense that these characters are asking questions about the next step in the lives. That element brings them together and ultimately brings them closure.

I recommend both movies.