It was a costume drama. A period piece. A romance. And we all know my feelings on your typical romance. I checked this movie out from the library, but next paycheck I am going to purchase it.
"North and South"
Set against the backdrop of Victorian England's industrial north, it follows the fortunes of Margaret Hale, one of 19th century literature's most original heroines.
Played by Daniela Denby-Ashe, Margaret is a privileged, middle class southerner who is forced to settle in the northern town of Milton.
Margaret takes instant offence to the town and its people. She becomes terribly lonely and hates the dirt, noise and lack of civilisation, blaming their new way of life for her mother's ailing health.
Her distaste for the town and its people extends to handsome and charismatic cotton mill owner John Thornton, (Richard Armitage), whom she believes epitomises everything she dislikes about the North.
However, Margaret gradually begins to settle in Milton. Her social conscience awakens and she befriends some of the local mill workers, learning about their poverty and workplace struggles.
As events conspire to throw Margaret and Thornton together, the two spirited characters have to overcome their repressed physical attraction for one another and conquer prejudices of class and circumstance.
There are a few clips on the website linked above. (I also took the description from the same website) The following clips came from youtube.
A good overview of the movie
This scene is the best of the movie. She has spent the movie looking back at him whenever she walks away from him and this one time, when he wants it more than ever... I actually cried.
It is a romance, so we all know how it is going to go- they meet, they don't like each other, they begin to tolerate each other, they fall in love, misunderstandings abound, all is resolved and forgiven and they live happily ever after. Blah, blah, blah. You all know how I feel about that. But I tell you, I was beginning to despair that the resolution and happily ever after kiss was never going to happen!
Daniela Denby-Ashe as Margaret Hale was wonderful. A spitfire and able to give as well as she gets.
Sinead Cusack as Hannah Thornton- amazing. I wanted to dislike her. To hate her character, in fact. But I could not. For all her hard heartedness, she really is a softie and just loves her son and wants what will be best for him.
I am not sure who played John's sister, but her? The sister? I had no problem disliking.
By far the best romance I have watched in a very long time. And may I just say that Richard Armitage is one of the sexiest men I have watched in a long time? (can I say that in public?) Watch it and watch him and fall in love all over again.
Indeed.
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