North & South (2004) User Reviews

Gorgeous adaptation

[quilttn · 10/10 · 20 August 2005]

I'm a history teacher so I'm very critical of adaptations, especially those that sentimentalize the past in any way. This is a superb rendering of the spirit of the industrial age and the many facets of class struggle within it. It's also a richly romantic love story. The acting by all the cast is uniformly excellent but Richard Armitage as Thornton is a stand-out. The BBC is well-known for their meticulous attention to detail with locations and costumes. The working 19C mills used in the film are like watching a Jacob Riis photograph springing to life. The cinematography is gorgeous and the music is outstanding. This is the best historic fiction on screen I've ever seen.

Unexpected Treat

[parthenos69 · 10/10 · 20 July 2005]

North and South took me completely by surprise when it was aired on BBC America. I was flipping through channels and thought I was going to be tuning into the American version based on the John Jakes novels. But Elizabeth Gaskell's work on which the film is based is far more than a mere period romance. This is social commentary and a love story, the struggle of workers and masters/managers as well as the misunderstanding of the intellectuals that forms a triangle in the film that is still alive today. The lead characters all take on a social conscience that grows with their love for each other to an understanding of the different worlds that lived together in this time of radical change. But the true success of the film lies in the actors abilities to show the true emotion and change that takes place around them and in them during the course of the tale. It is unfortunate that the BBCA chose to cut out so much of the film and hopefully the DVD will be available soon for US viewers to force others into watching. A true diamond being lost in the rough. Do yourselves a favor and sit back and enjoy the excellent acting and story, then sit back and watch it again and take note of all the layers of social history being shown. Or just to watch Richard Armitage ;), sooooo good!

Brilliant - great Sunday evening entertainment!!

[sarah1602 · 10/10 · 8 December 2004]

Just what you need for a cold winter Sunday night! It's nice to have something to really get into, but the 4 weeks it was on went way too fast! The sets, costumes and acting were excellent, especially Richard Armitage's performance as mill owner John Thornton. He's got a brilliant deep, brooding sort of look about him, but with a softer, kind side too that is gradually revealed as the story goes on. The way Richard Armitage portrayed these two sides of Thornton's character was amazing. And as well as being a great actor, he's also very, very good looking! Nice smile (though we don't see it very often - so it's lucky he looks good when being moody/troubled!!)and a lovely voice. (sounds a bit like Sean Bean as a matter of fact!) Oh I'm going to miss this series! But honestly, not just because of Mr Thornton; it really was a gripping story and a great drama. The music was brilliant too, really capturing the mood and feel of the dark, industrial setting.

Social relevance for today

[jhsteel · 9/10 · 14 December 2004]

Elizabeth Gaskell may have invented the concept of the North/South divide in British society - some commentators think so. The adaptation of her novel makes it clear that although the North is viewed as a scary place for young Margaret Hale as she is forced to move there, she eventually falls in love with the working people she meets and with a mill owner, John Thornton, played movingly by Richard Armitage. I hope that people will find the social message of Gaskell's story relevant for today even though many viewers will be caught up in the central love story. The story deals with the infancy of the trade union movement and for those of us who had ancestors in the cotton industry, is very important in its portrayal of the dangerous working conditions. Reading the book is well worth the effort because it provides more insight in to the motivations of the characters and explains why they eventually grow to love each other. This is a very enjoyable TV drama and is worth repeating - hopefully the BBC will do so!

simply excellent

[wynne · 10/10 · 11 December 2005]

Excellent rendition of Elizabeth Gaskells book.

The production is authentic - set in an impressive, historic working mill - with Edinburgh filling in for Manchester (Milton). The camera work is fluid and modern, and the story is told easily, not stilted, like some period dramas.

The acting is superb - the lead characters John and Hannah Thornton, Margaret Hale, and union man Nicholas Higgins are so natural that you forget that you are watching a movie, and get simply enthralled in their story. The supporting characters are also strong making this an unexpected gem of a movie.

Some of the dialog is taken directly from the book; some scenes are new but feel authentic. Overall I think that the story is very well told - the story of owner vs. worker in the industrial revolution - as well as an unexpected romance between social classes.

Hollywood NEEDS Richard Armitage

[bufferuskers · 26 July 2005]

I hope there are high profile producers and directors who will seek out a DVD of North and South to see the outstanding performance of Richard Armitage. His charisma and talent are FAR, FAR BEYOND anything hyped up in Hollywood in recent years (he makes Jude Law, just to take one example, look like a grade school amateur).

This amazing performance should not be missed. I wish I had the means and knowledge to send copies of the DVD to all of the big independent producers, the studios, and directors.

This guy has "it" - talent, stature, intelligence, charisma. Anyone serious about acting should not miss Richard Armitage's performance.

Very Enjoyable

[eastbergholt2002 · 9/10 · 11 March 2006]

I bought the DVD version for my wife; she liked the book and enjoyed the BBC version of Wives & Daughters. I've probably seen far too many BBC costume dramas, but we were both gripped immediately and watched the whole thing in one sitting - all four hours. The story is set mainly in England's industrial North West during the 1850s, a time when even the rich seemed on the verge of destitution.

The hero is John Thornton (Richard Armitage) a self-made mill owner, who initially appears to be an aloof and brutal tyrant (Mr. Darcy with a Northern accent). The heroine is Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe) a clergyman's daughter from Hampshire who finds it difficult to fit into northern society. Hale's family don't have a lot of money and seem out of place. She befriends the family of a union leader and causes controversy by speaking her mind about working conditions in the mills.

The story is based on a novel by Mrs. Gaskell, and the central characters go through some hardships and misunderstandings before they reach the predictable happy ending. The BBC is very good at this sort of thing. The story was well told with excellent acting, especially from Armitage, Sinead Cusack and Tim Piggott Smith. The characters were articulate and the plot was both credible and absorbing. Overall, it was an enjoyable series.

A diamond in the rough

[eliza_gaskell · 10/10 · 8 January 2011]

It's been a while since the BBC has given a outstanding period drama. I've seen North and South when it was first aired in Australia on the ABC TV, where there was very little promotion about it. And what a surprise it was. I brought it immediately once it was available on DVD in Australia.

I've just finished watching it (for the hundredth time) and is still stands the test of time. How on Earth did the BBC managed to get a near perfect cast for this production is simply miraculous and the lead actors were virtually unknown at the time! Elizabeth Gaskell works may not be well known, however Mrs Gaskell is to be given credit. She was one of the first to write how exactly the common man, at the time, spoke with imperfect English. She witnessed the decay and filth, breathed the smoke of industry and saw the poverty of the workers, when she lived in Manchester with her preacher husband; North and South, the novel, depicts all this.

This adaptation of Mrs Gaskell's North and South is faultless and the acting is sublime.Some lines and scenes are from the book, while others parts are adapted to suit the small screen and modern audiences. For example, Margaret in the book never went to the mill, where as she does in the TV mini series. Nevertheless it does follow the book closely, far closer than Mrs Gaskell's other novel turned into a mini series Cansford (2007).

Daniela Denby-Ashe is absolutely ideal as the beautiful, privileged and head strong Margaret Hale who is uprooted from her beloved Helstone to the industrial town of Milton by her father Mr Hale. It is in Milton where Margaret's middle class ideals are challenged and she slowly grows as a person of real character; along this journey she slows admires and eventually falls in love with the local mill owner John Thornton (a self made man who has successfully, raised his family and himself out of poverty, whom she considers to be socially inferior) . This challenging role allows Ms Denby-Ashe to stretch her acting abilities, develop her character and her portrayal as Margaret is simply stunning. There are scenes, combined with great lighting and the Victorian costume, where Daniela is gorgeously beautiful. What a contrast to see her in this, then the dumbing character of Janey in My Family.

Richard Armitage is John Thornton! He breathed life in to this character and gave him dimensions. Mr Armitage portrays him as man with many facets: flawed, ruthless, angry, intelligent but also with a honest and frank countenance. Cannot think of any other English actor to portray John Thornton as Richard Armitage has. Not many actors can pull off expressions that can convey a range of emotions with a look and not uttering a single word. His screen presence is charismatic and riveting, but well balanced, as to not overwhelm Ms Denby-Ashe presence on the small screen. Simply put, the man has TALENT! which puts to shames his contemporaries thespians in Hollywood.

And the chemistry between the two leading actors makes watching the end worthwhile. (Puritans would gasp in horror, but if you read the book, you'll know what I mean, when I state, although I loved the book, I prefer this modern updated ending). But lets not forget the supporting cast.

Sinead Cusack, a delight to watch as Mrs Hannah Thornton. To witness Richard Armitage and Sinead, having similar characteristics and as well as mannerisms, even looks, you'd be lead to believe they are related. And Mrs Thornton's love for her son John, is beautifully enacted, in the scene before and after the proposal.

Great to see Tim Piggot-Smith as Mr Hale (a weak character) in a role that does not stereo cast him as villain. Leslie Manville as Mrs Maria Hale, another weak character, is virtually unrecognizable. Brendan Coyle does justice to the character of Nicholas Higgins; notice the twinkle in his eye when he reveals some truths to Thornton.

Anna Maxwell Martin as Bessie Higgins, Pauline Quirke as Dixon, Jo Joyner as self absorbed Fanny Thornton and Brian Protheroe (Mr Bell) all have their moments in the spotlight. Finally, Rupert Evans, surprising to see him cast as Frederick Hale, and he does look a bit like Daniela Denby-Ashe.

Sandy Welch script is placed in the careful hands of director Brian Percival who manages to film N&S beautifully. Edinburgh as Milton in the 1800 gives a wonderful feel, for the the industrialization of England, the cotton mills and the Union movement. Locations and set design are a treat, which give the feel of the Victorian era. The rigid social structure is highlighted not only in the actors accents, speech and manner of dress but also where they live. Just look at the difference between the household of the Higgins, Hales and Thornton not to mention London, where Edith lives.

The costumes give depth and assist the actors with their character; delightful to see Daniela in a wide brim hat than a bonnet. Richard Armitage look devilishly handsome with or without a cravat.

Lastly music by Martin Phipps, this man can compose and it shone in N&S. The score plays beautifully to important moments in the story. Margaret and John's simple piano tune, subtly overlaid, when there is an emotional development in their relationship or when they are both internalizing their feels for each other; to the swelling music when something dramatic has happened, all fits in well with the overall production.

North & South is proof that you don't need state of the art special effects, million dollar budgets and overpaid actors with star power or sex scenes. A simple story can touch a thousand souls...for it connects to the emotional human side and you feel for the characters as they travel on their journey, and North & South has all that.

Superb

[cooperhmc · 10/10 · 30 October 2006]

I am a English woman by birth - I have lived in NZ for five years and I absolutely love it here. However, the one big criticism I have is it takes SOOOOOO long to get the great British dramas here. This wonderful adaptation of a book that I lovingly studied at University, has yet to be aired here on terrestrial television and, knowing the standard of TV we get here, I doubt it will air...the best I can hope for is the SKY Channel UK TV. No sign of it yet.... Still, I saw the DVD in my local library and hired it for a dollar for the week ( thats 33p to you UK dwellers - not bad huh?!) And so that is how I come to be writing these comments.

It was the best dollar I have ever spent! I thought it very brave subject matter for the BBC to attempt as Mrs Gaskell does not enjoy the fame that Austen or the Bronte sisters names carry. In fact, to most, if you mentioned " North and South" before this wonderful production aired in the UK, they would probably think you were talking about a 1980's American Civil War drama with Kirstie Alley and Patrick Swayze!!! I have read a lot of the comments on here and there seems to be a general consensus that Richard Armitage rocks! I won't disagree. As a part time actor myself, I am critical when I watch dramas - If I see an actor playing the part and not the actual character, I lose belief. Perhaps it helped that I had not seen him before but, somehow, I feel that, even if I had, I would still have been totally ,mesmerised by his performance. Never has a character ever drawn me in so completely - not even when I read the book. In fact, I recall not liking him much at all when I first read it. However, Armitage played the role beautifully. As the episodes unfolded, we saw the layers start to peel away and, beneath the harsh exterior, a sensitive and painfully lonely man appear. Armitage was not merely acting the part - he BECAME John Thornton. He has a truly special quality that you don't often see in actors and he could say more in a look than ever any words needed. The scene where Margaret rides off in the carriage in the snow, leaving Milton, leaving Thornton watching her leave, yearning for her to show him a sign and look back, was one of the most beautifully shot scenes I have ever seen on the small screen. I have lost touch with the BAFTAS these past few years but that was a BAFTA worthy performance in that one scene if ever I saw one.

Onto the other actors. Dramas like these are ensemble pieces and succeed because of the power of the combined performances. I frowned when I saw Daniela Denby Ash for the first time in this production. Perhaps because we get a nightly dose of "My Family" here in NZ and I had the spoiled, bombastic, "Janey Harper" image in my head. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the restraint in her performance. It is so easy to be all heaving bosoms and fluttering eyes in these period dramas but she played the strong willed Margaret Hale to perfection and the chemistry between her and Armitage on screen was electrifying.

The amazing Sinead Cusack. I didn't like her accent at first I will admit, I thought it overdone but, the power of her performance as the protective mother soon made this pale into insignificance and I thought she played the role to perfection.

The wonderful Tim Piggott Smith. He is always good value and he conveyed all the goodness and gentleness of Mr Hale that I remembered from the book (and ironic that 30 years before, he played Frederick!). The scene where he is talking about one of his pupils to his newly deceased wife had tears in my eyes. As did the scene where he greeted his long lost son Frederick.

I LOVED Pauline Quirke as Dixon. She is a wonderful actress who I feel is really beginning to flourish and show just what a strong performer she is. She was utterly believable and her relationship with Mrs Hale was touching and evocative.

Finally, I would like to mention the wonderful Brendan Coyle - an actor who,in my opinion, has not enjoyed the recognition that he deserves. He totally captured the dignity of the working class man trying to improve life for his family and fellow workers and the despair when things spiral out of his control - the death of his beloved Bessie, the breaking of the strike by the desperate Boucher and the way that, despite all the suffering and the heartache, he sees beyond the barriers that Thornton throws up around him and puts out the hand of friendship and support. The scene where Thornton goes to Nicholas's house to ask him to come and work for him was wonderful. So touching to see two very proud men make such concessions. Beautifully played.

Finally, yeah, I know it was poetic license, but the scene at the rail station was the perfect climax to the piece. I had tingles down my spine just watching it ( and a few tears). If only life were that romantic! And I am sure there was not a red blooded woman watching that didn't wish a man would look at her with half the longing that Thornton looked at Margaret nor kiss her with half the passion that he kissed her with. Nobody does drama like the " Beeb " and, to me, this production rates above " Pride and Prejudice" and I would have Mr Thornton over Mr Darcy any day!!

a great adaptation

[minerva-11 · 10/10 · 24 March 2005]

With "North and South" the BBC has continued its fine tradition of producing great adaptations. Indeed "North and South" is one of the very best the BBC has done, capturing the nuances of the novel perfectly and bringing out the latent eroticism of the book. The only quibble is the way the screenwriter has changed the ending from that of the novel. Although this will irk some, I thought the new ending was in keeping with the story as a whole. The acting throughout is superb, especially from Richard Armitage as the brooding Mr Thornton - he captures exactly the character's pride, brutality, warmth and passion. I think Richard Armitage would be a very good James Bond.

Not that bad, but not a good adaptation either

[inega2 · 6/10 · 7 June 2017]

I know adaptations can be different from the original stories but this... I think it some of the "improvements" (or alterations) North and South suffered in this case were not only unnecessary, but they made it more difficult to understand the story and the characters. For example: when Margaret first sees Mr. Thornton, he is brutally beating a man, one of his "hands", who is already lying defenseless on the floor. How can she get to like him at all, when she knows he is capable of doing something like this? I think the way they originally meet in the book makes much more sense and it would have been better to keep it like that. Then, Margaret and Mr. Thornton barely speak to each other in the series!! It makes it very confusing (and almost ridiculous) when he suddenly decides to propose to her. As another reviewer already said, it makes you wonder "when did they fall in love??!!". It also looks like somehow Margaret started having feelings for him almost from that day on. Why? The ending felt quite weird for me (the scene in the train station), and not credible at all. I would have preferred it if they kept it a little bit more similar to the one in the book. I think the underdeveloped relationship between Margaret and Mr. Thornton is the worst part of this adaptation. Both characters change a lot throughout the story (in the book), not only because of each other, but because the people around them and they end up completely changing their minds about many things. Thus, in the book, the feelings they have for each other are perfectly understood. As for the rest, the actors were quite good and I really liked how they recreated this small industrial town and the rest of the characters. The relationships between Margaret and Bessy and Mr. and Mrs. Thornton were particularly good.

The Best Drama the BBC has ever Produced

[susan_cartwright_68 · 10/10 · 20 August 2005]

Sandy Welch's dramatisation of Elizabeth Gaskells' North and South was one of sheer brilliance....followed by the ground breaking production and direction of Kate Barlett and Brian Percival.

All the actors were polished in their performances, but in my book the accolades go to Sinead Cusack for her performance as Hannah Thornton, Brendan Coyle as Nicholas Higgins and of course not forgetting Daniela Denbeigh Ash as Margaret Hale......but the one actor who wore the part of John Thornton to a degree of sheer understated brilliance was Richard Armitage....lets pray that this is the start of something really big for this young talented British actor.

Excellent acting and production values enhance Gaskell's novel brought to the screen...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 23 May 2011]

I've always admired the way Victorian England is used so effectively in British TV series and nowhere is this more evident than in NORTH AND SOUTH, the story of relationships between different classes in British society during the 1850s.

The story itself bears a strong resemblance to Charlotte Bronte's work, SHIRLEY, a novel that dealt largely with strikes and mill owners. Since Elizabeth Gaskell was a good friend of Charlotte Bronte, it's no wonder that her story deals with some of the same customs and values as Bronte's work.

RICHARD ARMITAGE, whose very image conjurs up remembrance of Laurence Olivier's Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights," has a glowering presence and uses it to portray the hard-working mill owner who has to bear down on his workers when it looks as though his cotton mill is about to face a strike. He makes an unfavorable impression on the heroine of the story, played assuredly by Daniela Denby-Ashe, who has come north with her family to relocate in a climate and atmosphere not particularly to her liking.

The story delves into the conflicts in many relationships, but keeps the central focus on the intense attraction between the two main characters despite their differences. SINEAD CUSACK as the man's shrewdly possessive mother gives a sharp characterization and TIM PIGOTT-SMITH as the girl's father and BRENDAN COYLE as a rough mill worker are excellent in colorful supporting roles. The entire cast gets into the spirit of the drama and contribute to the uniformly fine quality of the acting.

For romantics who pine over Victorian romance, surely this is one of the best of its kind with production values in costumes and settings that cannot be bettered. A viewer is certain to want to see more of Gaskell's work brought to the screen after the successful transition of this full-blooded character study.

Ehhh...

[xxinstantclassic · 4/10 · 2 September 2009]

Maybe my expectations were too high after reading so many wonderful reviews, but this movie did nothing for me. The beautiful music was the best part of the movie, aside from Richard Armitage. I found Daniela Denby-Ashe to be very annoying and unlikeable. I didn't buy the love story at all. The two barely even talked to each other, and next thing you know he's proposing to her. The whole time I'm watching it, I'm thinking "WHEN DID THEY FALL IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER?!" Since the love is so underdeveloped the romantic ending meant nothing to me. I would definitely not put it on a list of my favorite costume dramas. I found it to be boring and disappointing.

Great Stuff!

[camillahopkin · 1 January 2005]

I thought this production was great - I highly recommend it to anyone especially if they enjoyed Pride and Prejudice - It took you back to another era and was thoroughly entertaining. The actors were great and any red blooded woman would have had their pulses sent raising with Richard Armitage's performance!

I also thought the sets and locations were fabulous - such details especially the 'snow' scene in the factory at the very beginning- spell binding!. So all in all even though certain details of Victorian conduct etc were thrown out of the window this production was brilliant!! I can't wait for the DVD to come out... It was so great I immediately read the book

Brilliant adaptation

[yorkiegirl16 · 10/10 · 6 December 2004]

I had never read this book, but enjoy watching period dramas. I'm going to read the book now. I got into this in the first episode and I was gripped all the way through. I was rooting for Margaret and John to get together as it just had got to happen. Great portrayals by Sinead Cusack as John Thornton's mother and Jo Joyner as sister Fanny, she was funny. Brendan Coyle was great as Nicholas Higgins, showing us the worker's side of the story and what the unions were trying to do. Very believable acting from Richard Armitage as John Thornton and Daniela Denby-Ashe was lovely as Margaret. Thornton reminds me of similar sort of characters - Mr Rochester, Darcy. We need men like that.

Yet again, BBC delivers! :)

[amity_007 · 8/10 · 29 June 2005]

Very good period drama that BBC can always be expected to produce. I've never read the book but like most adaptations, i'm going to soon! I absolutely adored this TV mini-series! The first two episodes were so bleak and John Thorton was an absolute git! But sure enough, Margret left an impression and the better side of his nature shone through! The ending was so romantic is right up there with my other favourite BBC adaptation 'Pride and Prejudice.' The delicate and unexperienced kiss so full of love just had me grinning inanely - so romantic! *happy sigh* I agree one-hundred per cent with the other reviewer - Thorton did remind me of Mr. Darcy but we do need more men like that! If you want a drama that mixes historical facts (the development of workers union) and the personal journey of a young women (Margret Hale played by the lovely Daniela Denby-Ashe who has such gorgeous facial expressions) with a splash of romance then 'North and South' is definitely for you!!

rocks

[thortonpoppyluke · 10/10 · 22 December 2004]

it was really good. Richard Armatige was a great John Thornton and the whole thing was wonderful. It was a beautiful story of love and family. This is the best thing the BBC have put on TV for years and I cant wait until it comes out on DVD in April. It has made me read the book which is as good as the dramatisation. Your heart went out to the poor families and in some placers it made me cry. Magret Hale and John Thornton do not immediately get on but go through a mixture of her disliking him, to his refused proposal, to their eventual love at the end. This was well acted with wonderful musical additions. The show was widely applauded.

top notch Gaskell in the industrial north

[didi-5 · 8/10 · 1 September 2008]

Although 'North and South' has a plot which could be dismissed as pure Catherine Cookson - rich clergyman's daughter with family in reduced circumstances move from leafy Hampshire to smoky Milton (Manchester) where she makes friends with factory folk and has a love-hate relationship with the local squire (sorry, mill owner and magistrate) before she comes into money from father's old schoolfriend (who has a yen to marry her) and she saves the squire from bankruptcy by offering him a loan but marrying him instead - it really is done so well that you don't notice the implausibilities and creaks in storyline as you're watching.

With a cast who are firing on all cylinders - Daniela Denby-Ashe (Margaret), Lesley Manville (Margaret's mother), Tim Pigott-Smith (Margaret's father), Pauline Quirke (their servant Dixon), Richard Armitage (the mill-owner), Sinead Cusack (his mother), Brendan Coyle (a union man and mill-worker), Anna Maxwel-Martin (mill-worker's consumptive daughter), Brian Protheroe (friend of Margaret's father), and William Houston (strike-breaker) - 'North and South' can never be accused of being boring. It looks as if money has been spent on it as well, which makes all the difference.

Romanticism vs Victorianism: South vs North decoded

[Erick-12 · 8/10 · 13 February 2008]

Very nicely filmed, somehow both visually stylish and accurate on period detail. Based on the novel of the same title by Gaskell, a work that is crucial for understanding – in an ideologically deflected way — the transition from Romanticism (the country cottage, poetry, equality, etc) to early Victorianism (industrial power, science, Darwinian adaptation, bourgeois reform, etc.) that Gaskell seems to endorse through the transformation of the heroine, and her choice of husband. Myth in action here, as in the sense of resolving this contradiction in imaginative fiction. Alas, the contradictions between Romantic values and Victorian values remains with us even into the 21st century. This perhaps explains why the BBC television production of _North and South_ was so watchable for so many viewers.

Fantastic

[Astrophel · 10/10 · 24 May 2005]

Absolutely gorgeous period drama! As a huge fan of BBC's Pride and Prejudice this has quickly become my favourite! Accurate casting, fantastic costumes, authentic settings and the soundtrack really adds to the quality of the series.

It has all the passion that Pride and Prejudice (Bless it!) lacks.

The story centers around Margaret Hale who moves from Helstone (the South) to Milton (the North). To begin with Margaret hates the bleak and industrial north and especially dislikes Mr Thornton who appears to Margaret to be cold and controlling, or are things not as they appear to be?

Watchable

[eweeks-10068 · 6/10 · 28 June 2022]

Story: good, slow burning, but watchable enough Costumes: fairly accurate Setting: as above Music: as above and not overused Casting: here there's a problem. Daniela Denby-Ashe is the only one stiff and unemotional. Whether angry, sad or happy her face never changes.

If she was re-cast (and the brother because he's a drip) it would make for a better programme.

stellar performances and story

[MaryK-2 · 10/10 · 4 February 2006]

This is one of the best, if not the best period mini-series to come out of Britain in recent years. Being an avid Pride and Prejudice (and Colin Firth fan), this is better. Seeing the previews, I initially thought it was stuffy and just another period piece.....boy, was I wrong. I decided to give it another chance, rented the DVD and watched it in peace. It is amazing...acting, scenery, story, etc. It is simply mesmerizing. I read the book after watching the series and personally liked the series better. It was tighter and had more of Mr. Thornton than the book...and OH! can Richard Armitage convey more emotions in one look than in a hundred pages. Go rent it...better yet buy it. You will not be disappointed.

Quality historical drama with romance

[PeachesIR · 7/10 · 4 March 2024]

"North and South" is based on the Victorian era novel by Elizabeth Gaskell that focuses on the dramatic social impact of the Industrial Revolution on northern England. The story is based in fictional Milton, a stand-in for mid-19th century Manchester. Young, idealistic and rather sheltered Margaret Hale relocates to Milton with her parents, including a dissenting pastor father who has left a comfortable post and lifestyle in a leafy Hampshire village, uprooting his family to follow his conscience. The Hales are now in "reduced circumstances," but certainly very well off compared to the poor mill workers Margaret meets in Milton. She befriends a working-class family led by Higgins, the leader of a new union who is planning a strike. The cotton mill at the center of the drama is owned by John Thornton, a self-made man supporting his widowed mother and ditzy sister in fine, nouveau riche style. John is stern at first, proud, confident and even rigid in his opposition to negotiations with his workers. He's also strong and very handsome in a brooding way. Both he and Margaret fall for each other, but they're stubborn and self-righteous, and there are the usual misunderstandings and plot obstacles in their path to love. As a viewer, you hope these two can somehow work it out.

Of the excellent supporting cast, Sinead Cusack as John's rather possessive and critical mother, Tim Piggott-Smith as Margaret's loving and learned father, and Brendan Coyle (later famous as Bates on "Downton Abbey") as the union leader Higgins all stand out. The costumes and set design all evoke the period well.

"North and South" is most successful at examining the rapid changes industrialization brings to England, the burgeoning labor movement fighting for better working conditions and wages, and the cultural clash between the more genteel South (exemplified by the Hales) and the harder-edged industrial North (the new-money entrepreneurs in "trade" like the Thorntons).

Margaret is also a bit of a proto-feminist. You could see her as a suffragette a few decades later in her life. Some of the plot twists are abrupt, and seem a little forced and implausible. I agree with other reviewers that the series modernizes a key romantic interaction between Margaret and John in a jarring way. I think the director felt modern audiences need classic Victorian novels to be spiced up. That's common in recent screen adaptations of this type. But it's well acted, great cast, and tells a compelling story.

If we're rating a film by the sex appeal of the leads, yes, it rates high

[paxveritas · 2/10 · 12 September 2017]

There's no denying that Armitage is a handsome man and Denby-Ashe is a lovely woman. Let's put that on hold, because Mrs. Gaskell is turning over in her grave.

Un-Gaskelly, un-Victorian scenes (smelling of Hollywood, not London, and certainly not of Manchester!) are injected out of writer's caprice to motivate the characters more blatantly, to bring sensationalism into the mix for the viewer's consumption. The "railroad scene" ending that so entrances viewers is nowhere to be found in the book. Victorians simply did not display open, public eroticism, because it wasn't that kind of culture in those days. What a disappointment for modern audiences, who like nothing better than sex with a little violence thrown in for emphasis (Armitage's beating the employee in the early part of this dismal adaptation).

Other reviewers have said the Margaret/John relationship was not developed, or underdeveloped, and right they are.

The 1975 version, even with the liabilities of Rosalind Shanks' uncertain acting, crooked smile and meandering eyebrows (way too many close-ups of that lady as Margaret), is far, far better a telling of what Mrs. Gaskell intended to say. Patrick Stewart makes a believable John - morally straight, forceful, and attempting (nearly succeeding) to be a gentleman, as in the book.

Not that the 1975 version is perfect. Margaret, whose graduate degrees in economics are absent, presumes to know how to run a mill successfully, and pontificates frequently and ignorantly, but with sincerity, anyway. Furthermore, the 1975 version omits Leonard's recognition of Frederick at the train station and consequent legal problems for Margaret - but it is one thing to omit, and quite another to fabricate, as the 2004 version does.

Norman Jones is appropriately intense and mellow, as the situation calls for, and overall much better as Higgins in 1975, although Brendan Coyle has lots more sex appeal in the 2004 version.

This 2004 version is pretty. Nice locations. Mill fluff ten times the size of true mill fluff in those days, so the viewer can take it seriously. But it does not deserve more than two stars, and that's for Sinead Cusack's rowing with the script oars she was given - she does an outstanding job with a flawed script. Her dad was the great Cyril Cusack, an actor's actor, catch one of his later roles as the gunsmith in "The Day of the Jackal."