Just like last week, waiting for , longing for something new to happen (since I'm not so interested in hellish homes or adverts ... please, give us something more!) I went on watching the little I hadn't seen yet from RA's work. A pleasant surprise was last week In Divine Proportion and even more pleasant was watching Miss Marie Lloyd (2007) this week.
This period piece tells the true story of Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922) , English music hall singer, best known as Marie Lloyd. Her ability to add lewdness to the most innocent of lyrics led to frequent clashes with the then guardians of morality. Her private life was also controversial. Her first marriage to Percy Courtenay was a stormy one and ended in divorce in 1905. She quickly married Alec Hurley the next year and in 1910 met Irish jockey Bernard Dillon.
Richard Armitage portrays Marie's first husband, Percy Charles Courtney. Percy is not a likeable character, one of the several rogues in Richard's career ( Lee Richards in Cold Feet 5, Paul Andrews in Between the Sheets, Phillip Durrant in Miss Marple, John Mulligan in Moving On, Robert Lovelace in BBC4 radio drama, Clarissa).
At the beginning Percy is really intrigued by Matilda, whom he himself re-names Marie. As Richard stated in one of his interviews: "When Percy and Marie meet there’s an instant attraction and I think that’s because he recognises himself in her and admires her feistiness and her drive. There’s a balance of him seeing her as an investment he wants to develop but he also recognises something special in her, a real spark, like an untamed wild animal."
Richard's performance shows Percy quite involved in the relationship, enthusiastically supporting Marie, tenderly loving and romantically courting her. Only when he sees himself neglected by her, who is completely devoted to her audience and her successful career, he starts revealing his true nature, he lets his mask slip : he is an inveterate gambler and when he's drunk he's even aggressive and violent.
As usual RA's detailed performance makes Percy incredibly believable: each smile, look, nuance of the voice convey his temper both in his positive romantic initial pursuing and in his descent into betrayal , lasciviousness, violence.
Though his look as Percy is not the hottest we've seen, the Richard we admire is definitely there: you can recognize Guy's smirks, Mr Thornton's domineering smile, John Mulligan's deceiving charm, Harry J. Kennedy's sweet tones. Try to recognize them in this mini-film, about 30 minutes, containing all RA's scenes (apart from one with a naked prostitute on his knees. Forgive my prudery) . Marie & Percy's story is all in this montage . Enjoy it when you find some spare time ... if you haven's seen Miss Marie Lloyd yet, you can't miss it!
LOL!!! Let's hope she doesn't come back! Black-self, I mean! 'Cause I desperately want to reveal one of her secrets. Can you keep a secret? I can't! Well, I don't want to...Next Friday night, July 9th, black -self will be engaged and won't be writing her RA Friday as usual! Guess why?
She'll be at Roma Fiction Fest to see Strike Back screened in the Concorso Internazionale. John Porter on a huge theatre screen!!! Fingers crossed she takes me there too! Fingers crossed nothing happens to change her plans! She's such a dutiful bore! Always working...Will her husband let her go? LOL!!! We are not in the 19th century but she's so old-fashioned! I MUST GO THERE so... She must do her best not to miss it. Meanwhile, she got a pass for the Festival, being a teacher she could have one! Good God, boring teachers have got a reason to exist! Shhhh..She's coming back.
Must leave you and kiss you good night. Till next week!
Maybe black-self will succeed in her Strike Back mission and write an RA Satuday!
13 comments:
I haven't seen the whole thing yet... do you thing it's worth it, or is it enough to watch your lovely resumé? ;)
I like RA as a rogue, so I know I won't be disappointed... well, apart of the ugly hairdo, I must say :-/
To your red-self. don't worry, MG: you know Mr Darcy's mantra: WE.SHALL.CONQUER.THIS! :D
have a nice weekend,
*hugs* KB
@Karen
Forget the odd hairstyle and concentrate on his eyes, his facial expressions and how he uses his voice... you won't regret watching!
And , YES, we.SHALL.conquer. this! :D
BIG HUG
MG
I hope "black self"enjoys Strike Back on big screen ...lol. Marie Lloyd is one work of RA's I haven't yet seen. Thanks for telling us about it - I will keep an eye out for its airing over here. I think Cold Feet is about to air and we are still watching RH series 3. OBI was on last week and ABC have bought the rights to Strike Back. (I wonder where Marie Lloyd and Moving On are on the list?)
@mulubinba
So little of RA's work has been broadcast on Italian TV so far but, actually I wouldn't be so interested: to watch dubbed films and series make them unbearable to me. I've tried to see Spooks 4-5 when it was on...awful;I tried to see RH 2 on Thursday night but Guy with a boysh voice is ridiculous;I can't stand continuous interruptions for adverts. So the result is I watch very little if no TV at all. I prefer to watch my DVDs. For you speaking English, it is different. I'm glad you are going to see RA on your channels. Moving on? I bought the DVD, it was out 2 weeks after it was on TV, so...not bad, isn't it?
A great weekend to you!
Hi MG, I wasn't very impressed by Miss Marie Lloyd. Might be because I'm no so keen on Jessie Wallace, ex-Eastender and ex-queen of British tabloids. She played Marie Lloyd as she played Cath in Eastenders and as she actually is in real life. So a bit boring. RA was fab, as usual. I even liked his hairdo! I'm a total convert, don't tell anybody but he has even replaced Mr Darcy/Colin Firth as my favourite heart-throb (especially after seeing Firth at Wimledon the other day with his face "collapsing". Age does not spare anybody unfortunately)! So I totally agree with your red self! Have a nice weekend. Ciao. A.
@lunarossa
What a revelation, A.! Welcome aboard! A nice weekend to you, too.
Ciao. MG
I really liked 'Miss Marie Lloyd' and RA's performance - must say I also liked Jessie Wallace as Marie Lloyd, especially the songs! I also thought the costumes were wonderful. Glad you have managed to see this one, MG.
MG, I LOVE your red persona and this is a whole new approach to RA Fridays and makes for such a fun read. Have fun at the Screening and I shall be hoping you get what you wish for!
That'll make for one of the best RA Friday posts of all!!!
@Judy
Hi, Judy! I know this is not a proper review of this TV movie . I read yours few months ago and it was great. Anyhow, this is RA Friday! I liked watching Marie Lloyd and loved the costumes and the settings. I didn't particularly like Jessie Wallace but I think it was because I don't particularly like her character. I just can't sympathize with Miss Marie Lloyd and her choices.
Thanks for commenting. Hugs. MG
@mesmered
This little naughty me is unrestrainable and I'm a bit envious of her success. Devilish creature! ;-)
I'm sure I'll have fun in Rome next weekend because I'll be with very good friends and ...they are pretty like my red self! I'm glad you liked this post. All the best. MG
I haven't seen this yet, I'll put it on my 'to-watch' list.
Have fun in Rome, I was hopeful maybe the Concorzo Internazionale would show films in their original language with subtitles...hopefully this time they haven't given RA a boyish voice, it would *not* fit manly John Porter.
OML :)
@onemorelurker1
SB will be screened in the original language with Italian subtitles. No disturbing sounds...only RA's wonderful voice for his JP.
Thanks for passing by!
MG
I saw this recently, but I missed the first half-hour, so didn't see a lot of RA, and what I did see was mainly Percy being frustrated with his unlikable wife! It's my birthday next week, so I know what I'll spend me birthday money on... ;)
@Traxy
You're right, Traxy! This is a perfect birthday gift. You can't miss first half-hour's Percy. It means you've missed lots of RA lovely smiles, looks and... crinkles!
Thanks for commenting. Cheers .MG
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