One of the finest productions of period drama, Clarissa with Saskia Wickham in the title role, and Sean Bean as Lovelace was shown in the US on Masterpiece Theater in the early 90s. Based on the excessively wordy and period heavy Samuel Richardson volumes, the novel is edited but retains the language and flavour of the 1700s lace and flourishes look so ingrained in the portraits by Gainsborough and Reynolds.
A virtuous and strong-willed pious woman, Clarissa Harlowe is left a fortune by her grandfather to the envy of her siblings. Although her parents seem concerned with their daughter's future, it is their own comfortable lifestyle and that of their status which they care for more. Having courted the elder sister, Bella, Lovelace drops her for the younger and richer Clarissa, who he describes as possessing "implacable virtue" -- the goal of his ardent attention. The taking of the woman's virtue and thus virginity in the social circle of the status-conscious up and coming gentry, ruined her from attaining the aristocratic station her family with a vengeance desires. She thwarts their attempts to force marriage with the nebbish and odious Mr. Sommes (Julian Firth, no relation to Colin Firth). The result is she is made a house prisoner in her own estate. In an era when women were chattel and the property of their male relatives although they possessed income and means, Clarissa is abandoned by her father, who denies his daughter her clothes, books, and monies because she is unwilling to bend to the family's will. Instead, she seeks rescue through the double-talking smooth and dangerous, Mr. Lovelace.
As Lovelace, Sean Bean is both dashing and sensuous in wig and long coat, but his smiles have hidden menace, and his assistance to Clarissa after her abandonment is a rouse to place her in a brothel where he will have his way with her. To a young girl with no protector, Bean's Lovelace speaks with forked tongue of reform, pious conversion, and honor. The actor switches masks with ease in a role that he was born to play.
Now available on DVD and VHS, the production is everything period drama lovers desire. Great architectural interiors, fabulous hoop dresses with period print fabrics, and heaving bubbies through corseted waist confinement. It is a delight to watch and a must for any library with Barry Lyndon, Dangerous Laisons, or Valmont on the shelf.
A virtuous and strong-willed pious woman, Clarissa Harlowe is left a fortune by her grandfather to the envy of her siblings. Although her parents seem concerned with their daughter's future, it is their own comfortable lifestyle and that of their status which they care for more. Having courted the elder sister, Bella, Lovelace drops her for the younger and richer Clarissa, who he describes as possessing "implacable virtue" -- the goal of his ardent attention. The taking of the woman's virtue and thus virginity in the social circle of the status-conscious up and coming gentry, ruined her from attaining the aristocratic station her family with a vengeance desires. She thwarts their attempts to force marriage with the nebbish and odious Mr. Sommes (Julian Firth, no relation to Colin Firth). The result is she is made a house prisoner in her own estate. In an era when women were chattel and the property of their male relatives although they possessed income and means, Clarissa is abandoned by her father, who denies his daughter her clothes, books, and monies because she is unwilling to bend to the family's will. Instead, she seeks rescue through the double-talking smooth and dangerous, Mr. Lovelace.
As Lovelace, Sean Bean is both dashing and sensuous in wig and long coat, but his smiles have hidden menace, and his assistance to Clarissa after her abandonment is a rouse to place her in a brothel where he will have his way with her. To a young girl with no protector, Bean's Lovelace speaks with forked tongue of reform, pious conversion, and honor. The actor switches masks with ease in a role that he was born to play.
Now available on DVD and VHS, the production is everything period drama lovers desire. Great architectural interiors, fabulous hoop dresses with period print fabrics, and heaving bubbies through corseted waist confinement. It is a delight to watch and a must for any library with Barry Lyndon, Dangerous Laisons, or Valmont on the shelf.