Media Monday: North & South

Image belongs to BBC

Title: North & South
Media Type: Miniseries
Director: Brian Percival
Studio: BBC
Genre: Historical
Summary: [from IMDB]

North and South is a four part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s love story of Margaret Hale, a middle class southerner who is forced to move to the northern town of Milton.

My Review

This is one of those things that I knew I really should watch because a lot of people seem to like it (I heard all about “THE TRAIN SCENE! WAH!”) and because I was fairly likely to enjoy it. While I don’t think I enjoyed it quite as much as some people, it was definitely worth watching, even if just to see Richard Armitage without a beard!

One of the big things I really liked about this one was the time period it portrayed. A lot of the historical dramas are more during the “Jane Austen” time period, all light and frothy with pretty dresses and beautiful balls. North & South is definitely NOT that. Set in Milton, for the most part, it is right smack in the middle of the industrial revolution. Mr. Thornton is the owner of a cotton factory, and we get to see the harsher side of that life. Times are hard, there are workers striking, and not all of the characters live to the end. But all of that hardship somehow made the romance all the more poignant – something beautiful in the midst of all that hardship.

That said, I did question the romance a little. It seemed like Mr. Thornton spent very little time around Margaret over the space of a few months, and then suddenly he was in love with her? Since when? He sees her for a few minutes before his lessons, they exchange pleasantries on the streets, etc. but he hardly knows her well enough to believe he’s in love! Of course, that can mostly be chalked up to my modern sensibilities, and whether I believe in the romance or not, it is adorable.

Bottom line: I’d recommend it! But mostly to fans of period dramas, not necessarily to everyone.