Jim Clark was quoted as saying something about Fred always 'banging on about being pilloried as a Jew' in the film business. Is this autobiographical (young Jewish man, agnostic free thinker, comes to Cambridge in 1953 to study Classics, later wins Oscar)? Tom Conti is he (reminding me so much of Tim), though after moving first 1'20" episode in which his room mate dies, he disappears for almost the entire second, which features a drama troupe at said university and how they all essentially fall about - concluding with gay (rather good) Nigel Havers going down for two years.
And it continues in that vein - in episode 4, all about the couple who have retreated to the country, being enticed back - he is entirely absent, having just won the Oscar at the end of the previous episode - structurally, I'm not sure that's the best decision.
It has that rather seventies TV filmed-play feel in some of the scenes, but a lot of those conversations are actually little social and political debates. It moves on well when not bogged down.
But - Fred is great at writing articulate and intelligent people who are utter bastards and creeps. Thus 5 is a difficult watch as professor Clive Merrison and his American wife Suzanne Stone take up residence in a British University and encounter said boor (Dinsdale Landen) who takes every opportunity to wind people up, gets filthy drunk, makes inappropriate advances to all the women.. The students are a bunch of contentious bastards too. With the filmed play thing going on as well, it makes uncomfortable viewing. Still no sign of our other characters, which by now is getting annoying too,
We finally go back to author Conti in the final instalment, in which nothing very interesting happens. I'm sorry to say, despite the clear intelligence at work, it was a relief when it finished. I can't see anything remotely like this being made now.
On camera: Brian Tufano.
No comments:
Post a Comment