Love in a Cold Climate

Having read both of the books that this mini series is based on and recalling the excellent 1980 mini series, I looked forward to this new version with enthusiasm.

I have to say that on the whole I found it very disappointing. It certainly covered the bones of the story, but due to its short length, missed out on much of the humour in the original stories. It certainly looked good, casting was excellent, the period was conveyed very convincingly - but, because virtually none of the characters were properly introduced, I kept wondering "just who is this person". Anyone unfamiliar with the story would have found it confusing most of the time.

This was obviously not a cheap production, what a pity they didn't spend a bit more and do better justice to one of the classics of twentieth century fiction.

Aside from them not including the characters of Emily (the aunt that actually raised Fanny) and Davey (who plays an even more important part), I think the casting is excellent. Sure Rosamund Pike looks nothing like what Mitford described Fanny as but she does embody the nature of Fanny. I can't think of who better to play Matthew and Sadie but Alan Bates and Celia Imrie. Davey played a very important part in the novels, and in this version they merely lump his part into Lord Merlin; and he was also the one of funniest part of the novels with his hypochondria. They also dismissed the eldest Radlett daughter, Louisa, as really she marries straight off but is the one who had the disastrous coming out ball. I thought it was a fun production nonetheless.

This is a beautifully made remake of Love in a Cold Climate, but whereas the 1980 series had seven episodes to tell us the story, this film tries to do it (and Nancy's Mitford's previous novel) in 150 minutes.

While the performances are done well, and the insights into the oddities of the English aristocracy are just as Mitford would have known them, there really isn't the time to offer deep characterisations, and explain people's motivations adequately. You feel you're only skating on the surface half the time, which is a pity.

If there had been more of it, I would almost certainly have rated it more highly.

This is just about as good as it gets in costume drama. Even the BBC, which is so good at this sort of thing, got it absolutely right, even though this version ran at a much shorter length than the equally excellent 1980 version. The cast is good enough to eat: no-one strikes a wrong note, and some of the acting is downright fabulous (watch Lady Mondore's emotions shift and change). The period detail is, as one has come to expect, far superior to most other attempts at this period. As for the luscious sets, especially those in Paris — what can one say? Watch for the moment when Lady M., having breakfast in bed, says to Fanny that she married for 'all this' and the camera snaps back to show her, not just in a bedroom, but in one of the most sumptuous rooms you could ever hope to see. Deborah Moggach's adaptation strikes the right note all the way through, even for Nancy Mitford fans. But when will a version of the 1980 serialization be made available???

This is generally brilliant entertainment even if the political bits are clichéd and pointless esp the Spanish War scenes. But Rosamund Pike (as Fanny) is utterly spellbinding . You'll rarely encounter such photogenic beauty on film. The camera adores her and so do I. Some may find this comment lacking in gravitas or even frivolous. But forgive me - I'm in love !!

Of course "Love in a Cold Climate" has more going for it. It's a superb insight into the foibles and eccentricities of that most fortunate of social groupings - the English aristocracy of the inter-war period where fascism masqueraded as inherited privilege.

And the whole period is lavishly recreated and technically superb. Alan Bates is great fun as the sewer hating head of house who makes ingenious use of a bureau drawer to soothe his volatile temper.

But all else matters not a jot. What stands this costume piece apart is the astonishing radiance of the exquisite Rosamund Pike. I wholeheartedly recommend this study of happy English whimsy.