This four part miniseries is possibly the best best depiction of Admiral Nelson put on screen. This is an intimate portrait of the man and not the legend. We see Nelson through the eyes of four very different people.
The first being his estranged wife. She loves him deeply but Nelson has become increasingly cold towards her. She now questions did he ever really love her. For himself Nelson is depicted in this episode as very distant towards a woman who obviously loves him but really never understood him, and his guilt is very palatable. His affections are now for the free spirtited Emma Hamiltion.
The next episode deals with Nelson through the eyes of Sir William Hamilton , friend of Nelson and Husband to Emma. William is depicted as a genteel decent enough man a taste for all things beautiful and believes that Nelson is a great man in all things. This opinion slowly slips as he realises that Nelson and Emma are having an affair. He also realises that Nelson has a hard edge to his character when dealing with a courp marshal of once allied. Nelson for his part is talking sense but are reminded that the opinions of old friends come second to regulations.
The third part sees Nelson through the eyes of his trusted friend Captain Thomas Hardy. Hardy is invited to Nelsons house where he is introduced to the decadent and indiscreet William Beckford. Hardy becomes slowly applaud by Beckford's, Emma's and even Nelson's behaviour and this lead to a confrontation between Nelson and his trusted Captain days before they depart for Trafalgar.
The last episode is seen through the eyes of William Blackie, a member of HMS Victory's lower gun crew. We get an idea of what the battle of Trafalgar looked like from Victory's lower decks and the carnage of sail ship battles. Blackie is spoken to by Nelson as he inspects the decks before the battle and a now wounded Blackie witnesses Nelsons last moments before he succumbs to his wound.
What set's this depiction Nelson apart from the others is that most of it has been taken from diaries letters and journals of those who actually knew the man. So the viewer gets a realistic sense of the man and not the Hero. Kenneth Colley makes Nelson very human. A man trying to do the best for king and country but also a vain man who love the pomp and ceremony associated with himself. A man who also has a common touch which makes him loved by the public but sometimes uneasy with those with titles.
The rest of the cast is universally excellent, with great turns by Geraldine James as Emma Hamilton, Tim Piggot Smith as Hardy , Phil Daniels as Blackie, Anna Massey as lady Nelson and a scene stealing turn by her brother Daniel as Beckford.
The series was written by Hugh Whitemore and subtely directed by Simon Langton.
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