Fingersmith
by Aisling Walsh
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DVD details
Actor: Elaine Cassidy, Imelda Staunton, Polly Hemingway, Rupert Evans, Sally HawkinsDirector: Aisling Walsh
Brand: Acorn
Cinematographer: Simon Kossoff
Editor: Bryan Oates
Producer: Gareth Neame
Producer: Georgina Lowe
Producer: Sally Head
Writer: Peter Ransley
Writer: Sarah Waters
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 180 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-09-13
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
DVD Reviews of Fingersmith
DVD Review: Intense, believable tale of an illicit relationship
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading Sarah Waters' novel Fingersmith, I knew I had to take a look at the film adaptation of the story. A BBC production from 2005 of this tale of double crosses and forbidden love does a credible job of making a believable transition to the screen.
Set in London's underbelly in the 1860's, we see the world of Mrs. Sucksby (Imelda Staunton), a baby-farmer who takes in foundlings, and the materfamilias of a gang of thieves and a fence, Mr. Ibbs (David Troughton). In their little tribe of thieves -- or fingersmiths -- there is Sue Trinder (Sally Hawkins). Sue, unlike the other two thieves in the household, is rather cherished by Mrs. Sucksby, and has a privileged status as a sort of adopted daughter. Not that Sue is naive, mind you. She knows the rough and tumble ways of life at the bottom, but when a scheme is hatched by Gentleman (Rupert Evans) to defraud a gentlewoman, Sue is more than eager to join in the plot. After all, her take will be three thousand pounds, a goodly sum in that day and time.
The gentlewoman in question is Maud Lilly (Elaine Cassidy), the niece of a landowner, Mr. Lilly (Charles Dance) in the countryside. Briar, as the estate is known, is a crumbling, dark and downright sinister place. With a rather unpleasant childhood, Maud finds a sort of sanctuary at Briar, treated as a lady, wearing fine clothing, but there is something rotten at the very bottom of Briar, where she entertains her uncle's guests by reading his massive collection of books to them, and helping her uncle catalog his books as a secretary.
But then a young man appears in her life, Richard Rivers, young and charming and interested in Maud herself. He begs for her to marry him, to leave the dusty, dim world that her uncle inhabits, and know the freedom of London as his wife.
But here too, not all is as it seems, for Rivers is none other than Gentleman, and he has plotted for Sue to become Maud's lady's-maid and friend, and so, have Maud committed to an lunatic asylum, and he will gain control of Maud's fortune, with Sue receiving a share...
I really don't want to reveal more of the plot, as this is a story full of twists and turns, and some truly knockout punches. The emotional level in this film is high, but very believable, especially with the characters of Maud and Sue. The atmosphere is suitably dank and unnerving, but beautifully shot and directed by Aisling Walsh with Peter Ransley adapting the novel in the screenplay. While I had known what the story was going to be from reading the novel, I was hooked from the start, and followed eagerly along through the three-hour film, presented in two parts.
Parents should note that this film has some fairly questionable material, dealing as it does with Victorian pornography, and the intense emotions between two women. Those who find this objectionable should not watch this, as while the scenes are tastefully done, they're not masking over any details either. The scenes in the asylum are also fairly graphic, along with visuals of two hangings.
The DVD edition has some extras, with character overviews, a 'behind the scenes' featurette that has Sarah Waters speaking about her film, along with scene selections and a cast overview. The picture and sound quality are fairly crisp and clear.
I give this one an enthusiastic thumbs-up. While the content matter is a bit much for most audiences, if you can handle a lesbian love affair that isn't glossed over or shown for titillation's sake, you'll like this one. I did have problems with Sue's character at first, but when the big twist comes, I guarantee that you'll become a bit more sympathetic for her.
Happily recommended, with four solid stars.
Description of Fingersmith
The lives of two young women collide in an engrossing Victorian thriller that alternates between the twisting back alleyways of Dickensian London and the cloistered gloom of a Gothic mansion. Raised in a den of pretty thieves, or "fingersmiths," plucky orphan Sue Trinder (Sally Hawkins) agrees to help a con man known as Gentleman (Rupert Evans) defraud and betray wealthy heiress Maud Lilly (Elaine Cassidy). But Sue's plans are turned upside down when she falls in love with Maud. Then the women are separated--each to her own hellish prison--just as they realize the strength of their passion for each other.
Fingersmith was originally broadcast on the BBC and features Oscar-nominee and BAFTA-winner Imelda Staunton and BAFTA-nominee Charles Dance.
From Sarah Waters, author of Tipping the Velvet, comes this twisting and twisted Victorian-era thriller with an L-word charge. Sally Hawkins stars as Sue, an orphan who grows up among the reprobates of Lant Street to become an accomplished "fingersmith" (thief). Elaine Cassidy costars as Maud Lilly, an heiress who, as a young girl, was plucked from the madhouse and raised by her stern, bibliophile uncle (Charles Dance). He makes her wear gloves at all times so as not to smudge the precious tomes he makes her read every night. Enter Richard Rivers (Rupert Evans, the otherwise sterling cast's weakest link), an artist hired to give her painting lessons. But he has designs on Maude's fortune, and recruits Sue for an elaborate con. That's when the gloves really come off. Originally broadcast on the BBC, this riveting three-part tale of illicit passion and betaryal is by turns harrowing and quite erotic (the tasteful sex scenes manage to generate heat without baring a lot of skin). The literate script reveals its feminist leanings ("You are a man and might do everything," Maude tells Richard during their first meeting. "I am a woman and might do nothing."). The superb cast includes Academy Award-nominee Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) as Mrs. Sucksby, a Fagin-esque character who mentored Sue, and has a few surprises for Maud, as well. --Donald Liebenson
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