"The Forsyte Saga: To Let" (2003) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Andy Wilson

Writers:

Kate Brooke (screenplay)
John Galsworthy (novel)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

25 May 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

In the 1920s, decades after the troubled and unhappy marriage between Soames Forsyte and the beautiful pianist Irene Heron came to an end...

Plot Keywords:

1920s | TV Mini-Series | Based On Novel

Cast

Emma Griffiths Malin

...

Fleur Mont née Forsyte (4 episodes, 2003)

Also Known As:

"The Forsyte Saga, Series II" (USA)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Aigburth Ground, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Trivia:

Wendy Craig was asked to play Aunt Juley as she had done in the first series but was not available because of her regular role in "The Royal" (2003).

Quotes:

Soames Forsyte: It's far better to be with someone who loves you more than you love them. There's nothing worse than always trying to please someone; hoping they'll look at you, smile at you...

Movie Connections:

Follows "The Forsyte Saga" (2002)

Soundtrack:

June's Song

A gripping follow-up to the first series

The first series was so well wrought that I rushed out to buy the books, a set of three trilogies! As did the first, this second series brings the characters and story lines to life as though Galsworthy himself crafted the script. Once again, we trace the intertwined lives of Soames, Irene, Jolyon and their families as they mature and branch out. Damien Lewis builds upon his masterful portrayal of Soames, an emotionally repressed man bound by Victorian conventions, whilst others around him, including the irrepressible Freddie, enjoy the heady excitement of the decidedly unstuffy post-war era. I found most characters "aged" convincingly, although time, if not her fashionable appearance, seems to have stood still for June who now looks about the same age as her much younger sister, Holly. Overall, the continuity between the first and second series has been handled well. Much of the action in the books has been condensed whilst still remaining true to the plot (the same things happen, just not as drawn out). I am really enjoying the new characters who have been introduced: Jon, Fleur, Prosper Profond and Michael Mont. The actors are well cast and have done a marvellous job; the audience really cares what happens to them, regardless of whether we like them or not. None is all bad or all good, and we recognise our own human virtues and frailties in reflection.