MovieChat Forums > North and South (1985) Discussion > You guys are probably gonna think im cra...

You guys are probably gonna think im crazy but....

posted 16 years ago by katey525
12 replies | jump to latest

I think Kirstie Alley by far, has the best performance and most well written and interesting character in this series. My favorite scene with her is in episode 4 when *spoilers*

Virgilia is confronted by James and Ashton about sleeping with Grady and helping him escape. There was no look of shame, no guilt in her face. And when she says the word "Free" referring to grady and slavery in all you just get this sense that, even though she's nuts, at that exact moment she had the moral high ground over everyone else in that room. Literally the hairs in the back of my neck were standing during that scene. Her part in book I is better than in book II IMO, but she's still great in both. And i think it was a pretty awesome decision to have a character like her in this show.

Anyone else agree?

[–] tmb110 16 years ago

I've always thought John Jakes seemed to get at least one character to fit all the main "stereotypes," if you will, of those times. In the scene you are talking about, she even had a proud look on her face.

That said, I think she is brilliant in the series! The scene you are talking about is one of Virgilia's best but there is one scene that makes me cry every time: ---- SPOILER ---- It is in Book II, when George has his last talk with her ever. That scene never fails to make me cry.

I agree that her character brought so much to the series. While I think Ashton is the "cruelest" character, Virgilia is overly passionate and does negative things because she thinks it is the right thing to do.

[–] eac1027 16 years ago

Virgilia is my favorite character too. She was so passionate!

[–] marks1092 16 years ago

or completely insane/mentally ill/bi-polar...however you want to interpret it...

[–] thistledown-2 12 years ago

I thought she was mentally ill....especially in her fist scene when

she asks Orry if he's evil...

[–] kramwizzy680 14 years ago

yes, her portrayal of Virgilia was INCREDIBLY believable. She did a wonderful job in North and South.

[–] trufflesandme 14 years ago

I think Virgilia is one of the most interesting characters in the series, and Kirstie Alley did a very good job of playing her. That role was probably one of Alley's best performances in her overall career.

When I first saw North & South, I enjoyed Virgilia simply for the entertainment value of her wild emotions and outbursts. But the second time I watched it, I found myself empathizing with her more and understanding her better. I genuinely felt sorry for her because she clung so hard to what she thought was right that it eventually alienated her from others. I also realized how horrible it must have felt for her to work so sincerely and hard for abolition, and yet for her family to have no idea that she was such a respected player in the movement. Although she made many unwise choices,I never thought Virgilia was doing anything out of selfishness or malice (much unlike Bent or Ashton).

[–] bryanac625 14 years ago

Kirtsie Alley was the best actress in the series and was very convincing in an important role.

I consider Virgilia Hazard to have been a woman way ahead of her time. I mean, who's crazy- a woman who supports the causes of woman's suffrage; the right for a woman to be independent and earn a living wage; and sees blacks as human beings with every right to the "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" this country was founded on? OR is it a person, like Orry Main, who believes he has a right to enslave a man because he has dark skin?

Now, I don't believe Orry was crazy. And most definitely, Virgilia lost her mind for being way outside the box of Antebellum America. But I'll take Virgilia Hazard's crazy any day of the week. I've always felt that if someone like Virgilia (or perhaps the real Grimké sisters) were transported to the present time, they would be very happy with the world they see now, where a woman can support herself and have a voice in society and a black person can be free to work for him/herself. I can't say the same for Orry Main, James Huntoon or Justin La Motte.

I'm a black man. With Virgilia, I know I could sit down at a dinner table with her as an equal, have a conversation, and yes, be lovers if it comes about. There is no "Do not enter" with this woman. With Orry Main, I would be expected to serve that table or open his doors or drive his carriage or work his fields. Hmmm... tough choice here.

[–] singingstarlet 14 years ago

The thing about her character was she was a little too ballsy and out there sometimes. She was the complete stereotype abolishionist. However, I do think that Virgilia kind of cops out in the movies when saving Orry when she sees him in the hospital in book 2.

I think that Kirstie Alley's performance is highly underrated.

[–] scm1086 13 years ago

Kirstie Alley did a fantastic job in this movie!

The passion that she portrayed for what she believed was right is remarkable. For a woman of the time to be so straight-forward with socially "unacceptable" views on slavery is very brave.

*** SPOILERS***

When she is in the dining room at Mont Royal and Ashton calls her out on helping Grady escape, she isn't the least bit worried or guilty at all! she knows what she did was save a human life and to her that wast he right thing to do even though in the area is was considered a crime. Its hard for us to understand the full consequence of this act, mainly because we don't have to worry about human bondage anymore. But to commit a "crime" for the sake of what is right is just noble in my eyes...

[–] TorontoJediMaster 12 years ago

I thought Kirstie Alley overacted terribly in all of her scenes. It was like she was delivering her performance to the back row of the theatre.

Of course, the part was largely written as being overwrought, so it's not entirely her fault. I noticed Terri Garber overacted a lot too. (I would blame the director for this.)

Virgilia's problem was her extreme nature. In the book, George notes that Virgilia's extremism alienates would-be allies.

I did rather like how Virgilia got a better endiing in the third book than in the film. She ends up reconciling with her family and even ends up helping the Mains retain Mont Royal.

[–] marktayloruk (2506) 2 years ago

Her."whoremaster" speech was ridiculous. A community with men and women is surely going to result in children!

[–] 12 years ago

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