The Crimson Petal and the White 

Set in 1870s London, a young prostitute finds potential power and status after becoming the mistress of a powerful patriarch.

Stars:

Romola Garai, Chris O'Dowd, Amanda Hale

4 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Romola Garai	...	Sugar 4 episodes, 2011
Chris O'Dowd	...	William Rackham 4 episodes, 2011
Amanda Hale	...	Mrs. Agnes Rackham 4 episodes, 2011
Shirley Henderson	...	Mrs. Emmeline Fox 4 episodes, 2011
Katie Lyons	...	Clara 4 episodes, 2011
Eleanor Yates	...	Letty 4 episodes, 2011
Elizabeth Berrington	...	Lady Constance Bridgelow 4 episodes, 2011
Richard E. Grant	...	Doctor Curlew 4 episodes, 2011
James Wilson	...	Christopher 3 episodes, 2011
Clare Louise Connolly	...	Janey 3 episodes, 2011
Isla Watt	...	Sophie Rackham 3 episodes, 2011
Tom Georgeson	...	Henry Rackham Senior 3 episodes, 2011
Liz White	...	Caroline 3 episodes, 2011
Branwell Donaghey	...	Cheesman 3 episodes, 2011
Blake Ritson	...	Bodley 3 episodes, 2011
Bertie Carvel	...	Ashwell 3 episodes, 2011
Gillian Anderson	...	Mrs. Castaway 2 episodes, 2011
Mark Gatiss	...	Henry Rackham Junior 2 episodes, 2011
Wendy Nottingham	...	Miss Beatrice Cleave 2 episodes, 2011
Alan Williams	...	Colonel Leek 2 episodes, 2011
Maimie McCoy	...	Fireside Whore 1 2 episodes, 2011
Sarah Ridgeway	...	Fireside Whore 2 2 episodes, 2011
Izabella Urbanowicz	...	Fireside Whore 3 2 episodes, 2011

Storyline

Set in 1870s London, a young prostitute finds potential power and status after becoming the mistress of a powerful patriarch.

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Plot Keywords:

woman | 19th century | prostitute | female nudity | male nudity | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 April 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Crimson Petal and the White

Company Credits

Production Co:

Origin Pictures,Cité-Amérique,British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

274 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title comes from Alfred Lord Tennyson's 1847 poem 'Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal'.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD release includes a scene "The Twins of Drury Lane" which does not appear in the broadcast version.

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Connections

Featured in The Wright Stuff: Episode #15.70 (2011)

User Reviews

A masterpiece brought lovingly to our screens

I love Michel Faber's writing and it's a toss up between this and Under The Skin for his greatest work. The two could be no more different; Under the Skin is a taught contemporary sci fi horror set in Scotland and this; an 800 page monstrous take on Dickensian Victorian London.

Both are really great books and consequently both run the risk of taking a good pasting when put on screen.

There has been many year's of talk that TCPATW would be Hollywood-made and for a while rumour had it that Kirsten Dunst was to be the heroine, Sugar. However it fell eventually to the BBC to make this near epic adaptation. I say near epic because big and bold as it was I think it had even greater potential.

The previews did not make great reading; the panel on Newsnight Review, with the honourable exception of Maureen Lipman, annihilated it so I approached fearing the worst.

I needn't have worried.

The, at times, over tricksy focus pulling in the camera work was a bit heavy handed but this was overcome on balance because otherwise it was excellent (moody, creepy, almost surreal in places and beautifully emphasised by a particularly odd (in a good way) score written by newcomer CristobalTapai de Veer).

The set and costumes are astounding and the acting of the entire cast, but Particularly Chris O'Dowd (the IT team) and Romola Garai were of BAFTA winning standards, and had to be to pull it off.

In particular O'Dowd's tortured portrayal of sappy rich boy William Rackham is magnificent. It's as if he can't decide how to play the role, but that's just how Faber wrote it. In the end he comes across as merely a weak sap who is only in it for himself. Perhaps he cannot help it as we frequently see when he is led astray by his particularly vulgar "friends".

Romola Garai, by contrast, is nailed to the tracks in the conviction of her character, as the upwardly mobile Sugar; pulling herself out of the stench thanks to the interest of Rackham who gradually exalts her social profile in a London where status was everything (and boy did she have status in the underworld, starting off as the top prostitute in London). Her gritty but sometimes tender performance is the beating heart of the book and this ultimately excellent adaptation.

It's still on iplayer but I'd wait for the DVD and splash out.

For me it would play out better as an epic four hour movie rather than a four part TV series.

Wonderful. Bring on the BAFTAs. (And the Emmys).