Customer Reviews

The Mallens

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I tracked down this mini-series solely because I wanted to see other work by John Duttine, who was so outstanding in "To Serve Them All My Days." Based on the little I knew about "The Mallens," I wasn't expecting much, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that it held the melodrama in check and featured very fine acting. It has that "Masterpiece Theater" tempo of being slow enough to give you a sense of what life in rural 1860s North England probably was like, without being so slow that it bores. The characters, while very different in their assumptions and motivations than we expect in contemporary fiction, struck me as believable and understandable. One warning though: the material is very dark.

** SPOILER **

People die in ways or under circumstances that are very foreign to 21st century life, i.e., consumption, accidents. But that's part of what I found rather fascinating about it -- the sense of fatalism is palpable. Worth a look if you appreciate well-made period melodrama.

Bought this DVD box set after watching the Forsyte Saga. I have always been a fan of Cookson's books and the adaptation of this one was done very well. It is set in nineteenth-century England and has all the things you need in a movie, scandals, love and violence. The Mallens are a cursed family and from one generation to the next they can't escape.

The Mallens is a 1979 Catherine Cookson dramatisation that takes place in 19th-century Northumberland and centres around the Mallen clan. At the helm is the licentious, morally vacuous squire, Thomas Mallen, whose raping of a country girl (some twenty years before the story actually begins) has resulted in a bastard son--the parentage of whom is obvious as all males born to a Mallen have a characteristic white streak in their hair. The story covers three generations (unlike the trilogy of novels, which introduces an entire new fourth generation), revolving around the lives of and relationships between the lusty, self-serving patriarch; his son, Richard; his bastard son, Donald Radlet, and the Radlet family; his two neices, Barbara and Constance, and their governess, Miss Brigmore; the Bensham family from Manchester; and the children of the Radlets and the Mallens, Michael and Barbara.

With thirteen 50-minute episodes, this is by far the longest Cookson drama I've seen, and I must admit that it could have been tightened up a bit. There is a fair amount of filler in places (ie. scenes of flowers, people kissing or frolicking in meadows--we're even "treated" to views of the congregation (during a wedding) whilst a hymn in its painful entirety is being sung!). Having said that, the length of this dramatisation allows for a far greater development of the characters than would otherwise be possible, resulting in some characters (like Miss Brigmore, for example) being fairly complex.

Apart from its length, by virtue of being a 70's production, this drama has a very different feel from the other Cookson dramatisations I've seen (all of which have been 80's or 90's productions). If you're familiar with other British 70's dramas--shows like Upstairs Downstairs or The Duchess of Duke Street, for example--you'll know what I mean, and you can expect the same sort of look and feel here. In short, while the outdoor scenes are filmed on regular film, the indoor scenes are filmed on something akin to videotape. The difference between the two media is striking, and it takes some getting used to for the "videotape" has a much less polished look--particularly when juxtuposed (as it frequently is) with film.

I am a huge fan of the Catherine Cookson dramatisations in general. However, the dramatisations which are tragedies (of which there are few but of which this is most definitely one!) are not my favourites. I suppose it's because tragedy, evil, and disaster form such a large part of Cookson's dramas anyways (which is the reason for their being so rivetting and suspenseful!) that I feel much more satisfied with a happier, more positive resolution--or at least a more hopeful one. All things considered then, I must confess I liked this least of all the Cookson's I've seen (and I've seen most).

If you're a fan of the Cookson dramas who enjoys captivating period dramas that deal with love, hatred, greed, jealousy, and lust, and who doesn't mind abject tragedy, you may want to check this one out. Production-wise it may not be the best, but it is a good, solid story (as Cookson's always are) and it is extremely well acted.

If you've never seen a Cookson drama, because the production is not as tight or as slick as the later offerings, I'd recommend starting with something more recent--perhaps The Secret, A Dinner of Herbs, The Rag Nymph, or The Glass Virgin, to name but a few. In general, I strongly recommend the Cookson dramas. There's nothing quite like them and there are very few I'd give less than five stars to. If you've never seen them, I'd really recommend giving one a try--I don't think you'll regret it; in fact, if anything, you're likely to be hooked. I know I certainly am!

There are wonderful miniseries out there. Either of the Forsyth Sagas, Wives and Daughters, Berkley Square and all of the Upstairs Downstairs series. Even Catherine Cookson's The Girl or Glass Virgin is better. This is not one of those. This is heavy going with unlikeable people and often absurd situations. Call me a fool but someone, somewhere should end up happy in these stories.

If you are a Catherine Cookson fan you must have this dvd in your collection.......Slower than most of the Cookson movies, after I got through part 1 my interest quickened and I couldn't wait to watch the next episode....I found it pretty close to the first two books, except for the last......If you watch the series with a fresh mind you will thoroughly enjoy. For the most part, the acting is very good, the scenes done very well. I have read 55 of her books and viewed 16 of her movies, I wish there were more!..So again, it is another amazing story by Catherine Cookson. I started with The Black Velvet Gown and was hooked instantly by the book and the MOVIE. She is one of the most aclaimed writers in England and I think she is gaining popularity here in the states....

I laughed at the tragedy. I cried at the quality. And in the end, I was bored.

The problem with the _The Mallens_ isn't just that it's a melodrama. A considerable amount of real Victorian melodrama was written-and popular. It isn't just that it's unremittingly depressing. Thomas Hardy is unremittingly depressing.

It isn't just that _The Mallens_ features lovers doomed by the "immoral" quality of their relationships, plus cruel parents and guardians keeping them apart. What about _Wuthering Heights_? It isn't just that the characters include a governess who spends her life longing to penetrate the upper crust (what about _Jane Eyre_?); a villainous, lecherous, long-pedigreed aristocrat; a consumptive (or two; but many real and fictional Victorians died of consumption); an alcoholic (but ever-faithful) family servant; a sternly religious, ever-disapproving father; incredibly over-possessive mothers and guardians; and overall deeply dysfunctional families. It's not that it includes a gloomy, but impressive castle; a family curse; a (possible) ghost; a gypsy with dire predictions; several suicides; a (possible) murder-suicide; a death by dueling; a mysterious inheritance that everyone wants and may even be entitled to; a bankruptcy; some thefts; an amputation; incest; two rapes; numerous adulteries; and a case of intermittent insanity.

The problem with _The Mallens_ is that it includes _all_ these things. None of the characters ever do anything normal or show any promise of doing so. There's no scene that I can think of where the characters are not at some emotional extreme-no quiet BBC teas in this film! And some scenes are really over the top-like the one where the wealthy (for the time being) aristocrat and his upper-crust friends take all the ladies (respectable women of their own class) on their backs to ride horsie as a normal evening entertainment. And it doesn't help that most of the male characters sport not only late 20th-century hairstyles, but absurdly wiggy "big hair."

Skip this film. As the governess constantly tells everyone, it's for your own good.

I really tried to like this series but I couldn't. It's slow and dreary and just endless....