The Camomile Lawn
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DVD details
Actor: Claire Bloom, Felicity Kendal, Jennifer Ehle, Rebecca Hall, Richard JohnsonBrand: Acorn
Producer: Peter Ansorge
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 264 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
DVD Reviews of The Camomile Lawn
DVD Review: A stellar cast makes for an engaging period drama
Summary: 5 Stars
My grand aunt recommended Mary Wesley's books to me recently and I was quickly engaged by her well-written stories. When I learned that The Camomile Lawn had also been adapted for TV, I knew I had to watch it and I wasn't disappointed. The period drama makes for an engaging viewing experience.
The story begins just before the onset of WW II in 1939 England. A middle-aged couple, Helena and Richard are making preparations for their nieces and nephews' arrival at their country estate in Cornwall, the scene of family reunions since summers past. The five cousins are made up of Calypso [a very vampish Jennifer Ehle, of Pride and Prejudice fame], Polly [Tara Fitzgerald], Oliver, Walter, and 10-year-old Sophie who seems lost and unwanted. Oliver, fresh from the Spanish Civil War, finds himself haunted by his experiences, whilst lusting after his virginal, yet catty cousin Calypso. Calypso declares from the very beginning [in response to Oliver's marriage proposal] that she will only marry for money. Polly and Walter are siblings, but very different in character - Walter is unassuming whereas Polly is bold and knows exactly what she wants. She also develops a close relationship with a pair of twin brothers who happen to be next door neighbors.
When war breaks out, the older cousins take off to London - Walter enlists in the Navy, Polly works for the State Department [in a position of secrecy], Oliver enlists in the army, and Calypso finds herself a rich husband, a much older man, Hector who has a tendency towards violence when he is drunk. Young Sophie finds herself confused and aimless, and has a number of troubling experiences that affects her emotionally.
There are many themes in this movie - adultery, pedophilia, grief, women's lib, any many more that might seem sensationalistic but are dealt with in a believable manner and also portrayed credibly by the stellar cast.
I thought the female actors did an amazing job - the over-sexed, materialistic Calypso is credibly portrayed by Jennifer Ehle [playing her natural blond self here] - and there's lots of nudity here. Ehle exposes all of her bits and shows off her luscious curves in many scenes that do not detract from the storyline. So does Tara Fitzgerald as Polly, a bit more practical and easier to like than the selfish Calypso, she is a feminist who takes responsibility for her sexual life [going to visit a gynaecologist for birth control], but makes some controversial decisions in her choice of bed partners. Young Sophie plays a tormented soul - an unsavory experience causes her much grief emotionally, and she is also the recipient of improper sexual advances from various quarters [though its handled with 'delicacy' in the movie so as not to offend our sensibilities].
The male characters are less appealing, though the violinist Max Erstweiler, a Jewish refugee from Europe is quite brilliantly portrayed - he is a genteel philanderer [if there can be such a term] - sleeping with all and sundry [in fact he works his way through most of the female characters here!]. Uncle Richard, who only has one leg, is a comic and also tragic character, harboring some very improper desires. Oliver and Walter were pretty insipid characters and I didn't much care for them. The twins were interesting but their characters were not fully explored.
This makes for an interesting and engaging viewing experience - it follows the characters as they traverse the period of WW II and portrays how their lives are affected by the war - one would think that wartime would impose strictures on one's life, and though it does, it was also a time for inhibited behavior, where the fear of one's mortality led to reckless sexual behavior and propriety was ignored. I liked how the notion of 'town wife' and 'country wife' was explored here.
This should appeal to those interested in WW II period dramas, focussing on societal and social changes on people of the period, both old and young.
Description of The Camomile Lawn
It?s August 1939 and five cousins gather at their uncle?s big house on the Cornish coast. The imminence of war charges the air as they frolic on the fragrant lawn and tempt fate on the terrifying cliffs that one last sultry summer. Returning to the house nearly half a century later for a funeral, they recall how the war rearranged their lives and brought them suffering, sex, and love.This lusty, darkly humorous drama reunites Good Neighbors co-stars Felicity Kendal and Paul Eddington. Also starring Jennifer Ehle (Pride and Prejudice), Tara Fitzgerald (Brassed Off!), Rosemary Harris, Claire Bloom, and Nicholas le Prevost. Faithfully adapted from Mary Wesley?s beloved novel by Ken Taylor, who also adapted The Jewel in the Crown for television.
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