The movie
What makes a great miniseries?
Sometimes it's easy to see exactly what's behind a show's success: a
big star, a flashy setting, and so on. Other times, success comes
from a synergy of different elements, when all the pieces fit just
right and the whole effect rises to be much more than the sum of its
parts. That's the case with the British period drama The House of
Eliott: this miniseries, which follows the fortunes of two young
women trying to make it on their own in 1920s London, gets all the
pieces right, and the result is a show that's a delight from start to
finish.
The series gets things right from
the outset, with the introduction of the key characters. The House
of Eliott will eventually have a reasonably large cast of main
and secondary characters, but the amazing thing is how well they're
all introduced: there's never even the slightest confusion about
who's who. We first get to know Beatrice and Evangeline Eliott
(Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard), two young women who are suddenly
left on their own with no education or resources after their
domineering father dies. As the story develops, we meet more
fascinating characters: the sisters' cousin Arthur, their aunt Agnes,
the reformer Penelope Maddox and her brother Jack, and many others.
We get to see the slums of London as well as the drawing rooms of
high society, peopled by characters from all walks of society:
flappers, working girls, smugglers, wealthy businessmen, and society
ladies, to name a few.
It's when we start getting to know
these characters that another essential ingredient in The House of
Eliott's magic becomes clear. One and all, from main character to
smallest role, these are all three-dimensional, realistic characters,
with complex personalities. So often, television and film relies on
"good guys" and "bad guys," and it's unutterably
refreshing to have a story that never, ever falls into that trap.
These are all complicated characters, with their own motives for what
they do; it's impossible to assign any character to a simple category
like "good" or "bad." The most obvious example is
cousin Arthur: he's stuffy and prudish, and he's both domineering and
patronizing to the Eliott sisters. Given that Beatrice and Evangeline
(with whom we sympathize) are frequently in conflict with him as they
try to run their lives the way they want to, not the way he wants
them to, it would have been very easy to paint Arthur as "the
bad cousin"... but if we think that at first, we soon learn that
there's more to the character than this superficial layer. He has his
own reasons for doing what he does, and he truly believes he's doing
the right thing, even when the other characters (and the viewer) may
disagree.
What's more, as the story develops
we see that sometimes Arthur really does see things correctly... and
that Bea and Evie sometimes get things wrong, too. The two
protagonists are thoroughly interesting and sympathetic, so we're
rooting for them to succeed, but at the same time we can see they're
not perfect. Bea, as the older sister, is often too protective (like
Arthur!) and suspicious. Evie, on the other hand, has a fresh
perspective on things, but she's naive and sometimes too trusting.
And, as the story develops, we see more depths of their
personalities, how they react to new circumstances, and how their
characters develop. The same holds true for any other character,
whether it's Jack Maddox or Aunt Agnes; one and all, they're as full
of surprises and new insights as real human beings.
So far I've been enthusing about the
fantastic characters (who, I might add, are brought to life by
extremely solid acting performances across the board). All this would
mean little if it weren't for the high quality of the stories. With
the depth and richness of the various story threads here, I wouldn't
have been at all surprised if The House of Eliott had been
based on a novel, but in fact it's a completely original story. (The
series was created by the same team who created Upstairs,
Downstairs.) The main plot thread is that of the Eliott sisters
trying to make it on their own as dress designers, which in itself
divides into many smaller threads as the sisters overcome various
obstacles and find themselves faced with new situations. Interwoven
with these plot threads, though, are others of equal interest: the
sisters are also trying to make sense of their father's hidden past;
Arthur has certain things going on that will eventually affect
everyone around him; various suitors come out of the woodwork; and
through the characters of Penelope and Tilly we're involved with the
struggles of the poor to make ends meet, even while the rich are
commissioning fancy dresses from the Eliott sisters.
These threads are all interesting
stories, developed in interesting and often surprising ways. What
makes them work so very well in The House of Eliott is the way
that they're interwoven. The pacing of this show is outstanding from
beginning to end. There are always several interesting stories
running at the same time, and each episode switches back and forth
between the different threads at just the right moment. The result is
that there's always something on the back burner that we're intrigued
about, and (even more importantly) the various stories are always
developing. Every time we return to a particular thread, the story
advances in some interesting way, so once we're hooked, we' stay
hooked.
The pacing for the series as a whole
is just as important as the pacing of any individual episode, and The
House of Eliott gets things right here as well. The story runs in
one continuous arc from the first to the last episode, but with
various smaller story arcs beginning and ending over the course of
the show. The arc that gets the ball rolling is the Eliott sisters'
attempts to find paid employment and get established as dressmakers;
when this comes to somewhat of a close around episode 6, there's the
question of whether the second half of the series will live up to the
first. Fortunately, there's no shortage of interesting developments,
so that from beginning to end, The House of Eliott tells an
entertaining story. The result is that The House of Eliott is
extremely addictive: you'll want to keep watching the next episode,
and the next, and the next... until you've watched them all and
you're sad that it's all over.
It's worth mentioning, of course,
that the meticulous period setting of The House of Eliott is
certainly another feather in its cap (and in fact garnered the show a
handful of awards for costume design). But what makes The House of
Eliott such an entertaining series is not how it looks: it's that
it's an extremely well-crafted series with complex, interesting
characters, solid acting performances across the board, excellent
pacing, and an engaging story.
The DVD
The packaging for The House of
Eliott is excellent; with any luck, this will be the new standard
for Acorn Media's DVDs. The twelve 52-minute episodes appear on four
DVDs, each of which is packaged in an ultra-thin keepcase inside an
attractive glossy paperboard slipcover. The result is that the
four-disc set is nicely slim.
Video
The House of Eliott appears
in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The image quality is good
across the board, with a clean, clear print in both indoor and
outdoor scenes, a nice level of detail, and good contrast. The colors
look natural, though they're not as rich as ideally they could have
been. Overall, it's an attractive transfer.
Audio
The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack does a fine
job of handling the dialogue-centered soundtrack for the series. The
actors' voices are clear and easy to understand, and the background
music is well balanced with the rest of the track.
Extras
A few special features are included
on Disc 1. We get text production notes and information on fashion in
the 1920s, as well as a photo gallery and filmographies for the
principal cast members.
Final thoughts
When I can't wait to see the next
episode, and the next, and the next, but at the same time I'm very
sorry to come to the end of the program... that's the sign of a truly
entertaining series. The House of Eliott isn't ostentatious,
but it doesn't have to be: by having a high-quality story,
characters, and acting, put together skilfully into a well-paced
package, it becomes quite an addictive experience without any fuss
whatsoever. If you have any fondness for period drama (like The
Forsyte Saga), then The House of Eliott is an absolute
must-buy, no questions asked. In fact, The House of Eliott is
a series that I'll highly recommend to any viewer who appreciates
excellent drama. Highly recommended.
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