He Knew He Was Right (2004– )

Stars:

Oliver Dimsdale, Laura Fraser, Geoffrey Palmer

Cast

Series cast summary:
Oliver Dimsdale	...	Louis Trevelyan (4 episodes, 2004)
Laura Fraser	...	Emily Trevelyan (4 episodes, 2004)
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Sir Marmaduke Rowley (4 episodes, 2004)
Christina Cole	...	Nora Rowley (4 episodes, 2004)
Anna Massey	...	Miss Stanbury (4 episodes, 2004)
Geraldine James	...	Lady Rowley (4 episodes, 2004)
Stephen Campbell Moore	...	Hugh Stanbury (4 episodes, 2004)
Maggie Ollerenshaw	...	Martha (4 episodes, 2004)
Raymond Coulthard	...	Mr. Glascock (4 episodes, 2004)
David Tennant	...	Rev. Gibson (4 episodes, 2004)
Claudie Blakley	...	Camilla French (4 episodes, 2004)
Fenella Woolgar	...	Arabella French (4 episodes, 2004)
Ron Cook	...	Mr. Bozzle (4 episodes, 2004)
Bill Nighy	...	Colonel Osborne (3 episodes, 2004)
Caroline Martin	...	Dorothy Stanbury (3 episodes, 2004)
Amy Marston	...	Priscilla Stanbury (3 episodes, 2004)
Joanna David	...	Mrs. Stanbury (3 episodes, 2004)
Jane Lapotaire	...	Lady Milborough (2 episodes, 2004)
Patsy Palmer	...	Mrs. Bozzle (2 episodes, 2004)
Matthew Goode	...	Brooke Burgess (2 episodes, 2004)
Stephen Beresford	...	Richard (2 episodes, 2004)
Katie McGuinness	...	Jenny (2 episodes, 2004)
Alison Skilbeck	...	Mrs. Fairfax (2 episodes, 2004)
Sarah Crowden	...	Mrs. MacHugh (2 episodes, 2004)
Sinead Matthews	...	Mary (2 episodes, 2004)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | victorian era | 1860s | jealousy | country life | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

PBS/Masterpiece Theatre [United States]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 2004 (UK)

Also Known As:

Omistava rakkaus

Filming Locations:

Gran Sasso, Abruzzo, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Wales, WGBH, Deep Indigo Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

240 min 240 min (4 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Unusual Trollope adaptation, which almost succeeds

This latest period drama, written by Andrew Davies, takes a minor and rather unusual Trollope novel and applies the full Davies/BBC costume drama treatment. The sets are sumptuous, whether in a London still with fields and footpaths, the cathedral city of Wells or Italy. The acting is excellent, with outstanding performances by some of the older generation of British actors - notably Anna Massey, Geoffrey Palmer, Bill Nighy and Geraldine James.

But the novel itself is not the usual Trollope of politicians and clergymen (although both are featured). It is rather a psychological study of a man consumed by jealousy, and its effects on all around him. The problem in the 21st century is that the bases for the jealousy, the responses and the social mores which shape them, are so deeply rooted in Victorian England's peculiar class structure that they are hard to comprehend, and even harder to sympathise with. So that this viewer is irritated rather than involved, wanting to ask "what is all the fuss about?" But the director, writer and cast keep the action moving briskly through the four hours of the mini-series, and it is only in the final hour, when melodrama turns farcical, that the irritation overcomes the involvement.