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The Camomile Lawn
started out as a 1984 novel by Mary Wesley about wartime London and
Cornwall as seen through the eyes of five cousins. The title
refers to a fragrant chamomile lawn stretching down from the garden of
a house on the Cornish cliffs - sure, not the most inventive title
ever, but fitting none the less.
So often these "Book Adaptions" have fans in an uproar. Golden Compass
fans were outraged at the changes made to the original text, as were
fans of Phillip K Dick. However not having read this particular book,
it is understood that virtually nothing in the mini-series is changed
from the original book.
The mini-series is a fast-paced, earthy,
complex (but really well constructed) story of an English family over a
50 year period starting off when a family gathers at a funeral 40 years
after World War II. On the way to the funeral, members of the family
remember their earlier War years when Richard and Helena and their
nieces and nephews (especially Polly, Calypso and 10-year-old Sophy)
gathered at their uncle’s house with the aforementioned chamomile lawn.
The
majority of the story is set during the War years where the characters
play out their lives and their dramas in London or Cornwall with flash
forwards to the two days at the funeral in 1984 which takes up the
final half hour of the production.
There are some great
performances – Paul Eddington plays a rather unsympathetic character in
a role that was filmed about 5 years after he did Yes Prime Minister,
which might explain why he really looked his age. Felicity Kendal
delivers with a dramatic performance far removed from her normal comic
appearances.
The majority of the stars playing the War years’
characters and their modern day counterparts are particularly good,
especially Tara Fitzgerald and Virginia (Born Free)
McKenna as Polly and Jennifer Ehle and Rosemary Harris (Ehle's own
real-life mother) as Calypso, as they all have a convincing likeness to
help continuity.
Rebecca Hall plays the 10-year old for
most of the film with Claire Bloom seamlessly taking over the role for
the latter years. Although Richard Johnson is a strong presence in his
role, it was more interesting to see Toby Stephens (the villain from Die Another Day) playing the pivotal younger version of Johnson’s character.
The Cornwell coast is a perfect setting for English dramas like this
and it certainly looks its best here. The music, although based on a
classic piece, actually sounds much like the theme for the TV series Doc Martin which also is set on the Cornwell coast.
The
mini-series displays some great production values which seem to exceed
what you’d expect from a television budget. There is some gratuitous
nudity which was obviously designed to attract TV audiences in 1992 -
but film and nudity have always gone hand in hand. There is also one
quick scene (which admittedly the storyline builds up to) when one of
the female characters is caught naked in bed with identical twins Paul
and David (scenes which you would assume would air late night on SBS
rather than an "upmarket" BBC drama).
Classy, and slightly racey, fun!
EXTRAS
There
are up-to-date filmographies of all the stars included here. With all
due respect to the author Mary Wesley, there is also a totally
unnecessary biography of her included as an Extra.
Very sparse value here!
Conclusion: Episodes 80% Extras: 40%
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