MovieChat Forums > Death Comes to Pemberley (2014) Discussion > Very ropey script and costumes

Very ropey script and costumes

posted 11 years ago by syntinen
26 replies | jump to latest

I mean, I know it's deeply traditional to give the officer characters joke uniforms in BBC Austen productions, a tradition fully upheld in DCtP, but usually the civilian costumes are pretty good. What went wrong here? Ladies wandering around outside without bonnets or tuckers so their necks and shoulders will tan, and Georgiana coming down to dinner at Pemberley in a bare-shouldered dress that only a Directoire courtesan would wear outside her own bedroom.

And the language of the script - surely any competent scriptwriter should have enough of an ear for Austen's language not to have characters saying things like 'I'm fine. Really. Just fine.'

[–] flowers_on_the_razorwire 11 years ago

I know what you mean. It looks and sounds like it's all been done on the cheap.

[–] alfa-16 11 years ago

Meanies!

I have to admit that AMM's costumes and coiffure do make me wince a bit and even my tongue clicked at Georgiana's strapless number, but I can forgive almost anything for a producer who understands that what unites Elizabeth and Darcy is wit, intelligence and principle rather than physical beauty and a good seat on a horse. And I long ago gave up the idea that realistic period language should be expected in period dramas. Just as I am no longer shocked that the reaction to any period adaptation will focus mainly on the physical characteristics of the leads.

In this case, what's left is a lot of fun and the best drama on the box this Christmas. And that's what it set out to be. Pemberley meets Gosford Park and reminds us what Downton Abbey is missing.

It was clever to pick on the only two principles between which there is space for argument between Elizabeth and Darcy and it was genius to cast AMM as Elizabeth. She has caught the mature Mrs Darcy perfectly. I decided I was in from the first scene between them which displays the loving intimate strength that the forthcoming crisis will test.

Anyway. I like it. Despise me if you dare!

[–] supergran 11 years ago

I don't despise you!

I think what separates us is the ability to block out the inevitable anachronisms, goofs and other manifestations of human imperfection, and focus on and enjoy the good.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

[–] flights_of_fantasy 11 years ago

Ladies wandering around outside without bonnets

I tried not to let this bother me, but it did. Yes, she can walk in the garden picking flowers bare-headed, but visit a tenant in an open carriage, sans bonnet? It would have been unthinkable. It also suggests that the costume designer doesn't have as much experience with period detail as she should. Looking on her IMDB page it doesn't seem as though she has done much period work at all.

Having not read the book I don't know if the language is the fault of the scriptwriter or of the author. If P.D. James didn't get the period dialogue right, then the scriptwriter didn't stand a chance.

[–] randommovies2002 11 years ago

It would have been unthinkable.

Quite right! It's as unthinkable as arriving at Netherfield with her "petticoat six inches deep in mud"!

[–] syntinen 11 years ago

No; nowhere near as unthinkable. Appearing at the house of slight acquaintances with a muddy petticoat might be criticised as hoydenish, rustic, et cetera; but for a woman to flaunt herself in public bareheaded was actually indecent. It was an arrestable offence in Paris as late as the mid-19th century; and I remember an elderly neighbour in early 1960s London who couldn't bring herself to go outside to post a letter in the pillarbox just two yards from her front gate without putting on a hat and gloves first.

[–] teatat 11 years ago

That's not really the same. JA sets up a reason for Lizzy to walk to Netherfield and it's a one time thing. There's no reason for her to be going around without a bonnet ect.

[–] Julie-30 11 years ago

And as unthinkable as Darcy wandering around Pemberley in a see-through shirt, sans cravat.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] randommovies2002 11 years ago

Or Lizzy's cleavage on display during the day.

[–] BoultersCanary 11 years ago

Must have been made for the US market.........

The church may shout but Darwin roars

[–] supergran 11 years ago

Syntinen, I know you're a historian, and I bow to your superior knowledge of Georgian/Regency costume, but were sleeveless dresses unheard of in 1803 (beyond a courtesan's boudoir)?

As rare as hen's teeth they may be, but I've found a couple of examples of the period:

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/1802bbuf.jpg

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/verninac.jpg

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] syntinen 11 years ago

Not unheard-of, no, but I did say that only a courtesan would wear one except in her boudoir! Maybe 'courtesan' is coming it a bit strong, but certainly only a very daring, fashion-forward, married lady would be seen in one (as I'm sure you know, married women were allowed a degree of daringness - waltzing, for example - that young girls were not). Certainly it's not something that Darcy would countenance his unmarried sister wearing.

[–] supergran 11 years ago

I did say that only a courtesan would wear one except in her boudoir!

My mistake.

This might sound like I'm rambling, but...

My father was in the RAF during the war. He knew a lot about aeroplanes. Many a time we would sit through a war film on the TV and Dad would be shouting abuse at the screen. His perfectionism and nit-picking prevented him from relaxing and enjoying the film for what it was. (Although it's possible he derived a perverse pleasure from fault-finding. He certainly became very animated. )

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

[–] JaneBingley 11 years ago

I thought people were exaggerating when they claimed that Elizabeth had only one dress. I have now seen all three episodes, and know that they didn't. She has one dress, that blue-green, plain thing. In the last scene, she may have a slightly different one, it looks more green than blue-green. But then again, it may be due to the lightning.

BBC must have a huge collection of lovely period dresses, and certainly Lydia and Georgiana wore nice dresses, so why did this happen?

And Matthew Rhys' wig was awful, those ugly curls.

I now understand my problem with Anna M Martin in this (besides that she is far too old). She has two lower lips, and only one of them is lip-coloured. The other one is skin coloured. And this peculiar trait makes her lisp.

[–] randommovies2002 11 years ago

You all need to look more closely. Elizabeth definitely had more than one dress.

Day 1
Elizabeth wears a green embossed silk dress during the day, with sleeves extending below the elbow (3/4 sleeves). At night she wears a blue silk dress with sleeves above the elbow. During the daytime she also wears a long gray coat to visit Will and bring him books.

Day 2
Elizabeth has been up all night and is seen the following morning in her evening gown from the night before while Georgiana and Lydia are seen in their night clothes. Elizabeth also wears a second coat (not buttoned) with dark lapels and cuffs while walking with Darcy outdoors.

Day 3
Elizabeth wears a different green silk daytime dress (not embossed) with a green sash, and sleeves are long down to the wrist.

Day 4
Church. Elizabeth wears yet another long coat - this one is blue-green, and similar in color to her evening dress from day 1. Later, Elizabeth visits Will again (with Jane) wearing a green daytime dress, which might or might not be the one from day 3, with a different sash, this one tied at the back. She also wears a short gray Spencer jacket on this visit.

Then the dresses begin repeating, but she also has a blue silk daytime dress with long sleeves and a sash, which is very similar to the green long-sleeved dress.

It is true that all of the dresses are similar in style and color, which was indeed an unfortunate decision made by the costume designer.

(There were also different gowns in the various flashback scenes.)

[–] Julie-30 11 years ago

Yes, they were different dresses, but I still believe that Elizabeth Darcy would have nicer clothing than Lydia Wickham. But this Elizabeth dressed as if she were still Elizabeth Bennet.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] randommovies2002 11 years ago

Not quite. Elizabeth Bennet wore muslin in most filmed versions (sometimes silk for evening). Elizabeth Darcy wears silk dresses in daytime and evening in this production.

(Slow day at work when I wrote that post-- couldn't resist checking the eps on yt, lol.)

Forgot to mention:
I did wonder, while watching the miniseries, if the costume designer had Anne Elliot in mind rather than Lizzy.

[–] syntinen 11 years ago

I still believe that Elizabeth Darcy would have nicer clothing than Lydia Wickham.

Well it depends what you mean by 'nicer'. One costume choice that I did think was quite clever was the crashingly garish and tasteless riff on a military-style riding habit that they gave Lydia to wear in the carriage. It wasn't totally authentic, but if anything like that had existed in 1803 I'm prepared to bet that Lydia would have had one made (and left town without paying the habit-maker for it, naturally).

[–] whoanelly (1592) 4 years ago

You mean this one?

https://recycledmoviecostumes.tumblr.com/post/86828038411/this-heavily-embroidered-regency-era-costume-is-a

[–] Littlelep 8 years ago

Under one of the green dresses that Elizabeth wore, there appeared to be a buckle or something that occasionally made an indentation in the dress. I hope it wasn't a chastity belt! Seriously, any ideas of what could have been the source?

[–] magpieskye 8 years ago

Do you have a screen cap? Or could you give me the time or the scene? I might be able to shed some light...

Edit: perhaps it was the bottom of her corset sticking out? I've noticed that many times in period programs and films. The bottom of the corset curves out a bit; imagine how much more binding it would be if it did not.

[–] whoanelly (1592) 4 years ago

Yes, it’s Lizzy’s corset, which I think it too long for the regency era but I’m not going to make a federal case out of a corset being incorrect. (eyeroll)

[–] supergran 11 years ago

And Matthew Rhys' wig was awful, those ugly curls.

I don't think he wore a wig. His hair is naturally dark and curly.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

[–] klorentz 11 years ago

Yikes, I didn't think it was a wig either.

[–] randommovies2002 11 years ago

And they had to dye Colin Firth's hair dark for P&P95, and curled his hair. (LOL, there are photos of him on set with curlers in.)