Customer Reviews

Masterpiece Theatre: Love in a Cold Climate [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
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Two episodes and approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours is not enough time to do justice to Nancy Mitford's hilarious and moving novels The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. In this version so much of the humor and far too many of the characters are either eliminated or cut down sharply.

Nevertheless, given the time constraints this is a very fine adaptation. The main story concerns the love interests of three upper class young women in 1930s Britain: Fanny Logan (the narrator), Linda Radlett (the primary heroine who bounces from husband to husband to lover), and Polly Hampton (the enigmatic beauty who temporarily falls for an extremely distasteful older man). At that time girls from aristocratic families were expected to make their Society debuts at age 18 or so and marry by the time they were 21. Fanny, the most sensible of the trio, follows this path without any wrong turns and ends up with a husband she truly loves. Linda and Polly's vicissitudes lead them down many roads to tragedy in one case and final happiness in the other.

The series is beautifully filmed in England and France. Nancy Mitford's ancestral home Batsford Park stands in for the Radlett mansion, Alconleigh; while the magnificent Castle Ashby serves as Polly's enormous residence. In France similarly beautiful chateaus are used for Fabrice Sauveterre's homes. There is a real 1930s/1940s ambience throughout the series, particularly in the second episode set in the early years of World War II.

Although many of Mitford's funniest lines and scenes have not been included, there are some extremely amusing segments, such as a fur-coated Linda urging Londoners to join the Communist Party, or Sheila Gish's indomitable Lady Montdore's statement "hardly any of one's friends had even heard of India before we went there", or Uncle Matthew's emotional outbursts over Romeo and Juliet, or Fanny's aging socialite mother (The Bolter) arrival at Alconleigh with her Spanish lover.

There is also quite a bit of social commentary mixed in with the humor. The old landowning aristocracy is well represented by the Radletts and the Hamptons, and their encounters with nouveau riche types like the Kroesig family are a good depiction of the social changes going on in Britain during the early twentieth century. The Spanish Civil War scenes remind us that World War II's mass horrors are shortly to unfold.

So, even though this mini-series should have been much longer, it is still delightful and moving. If this is your first introduction to Nancy Mitford, by all means buy The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate and read Linda, Polly, and Fanny's stories in their entirety.

Nancy Mitford's connected two novels about Fanny Logan and her relations with two sets of aristocratic relations, the eccentric Radletts and the powerful and domineering Hamptons, are among the funniest works to come out of England in the twentieth century: they portray a beautiful, doomed, and very silly world that has managed to hang on by the skin of its teeth past the onset of the Industrial Revolution when it should have been wiped out completely. Twice these books have been the basis for miniseries from the BBC, and the latest and most expensive version (from 2001) is avilable on DVD. The characters and observations about class and eccentricity are so funny almost no version of these novels can miss, and this adaptation is blessed not only with sumptuous production values but a wonderful gallery of BBC stars, from Alan Bates as the splenetic Lord Alconleigh to the Sheila Gish as the iron-willed gorgon Lady Montdore. Of the three young women cast as the central characters galloping off in pursuit of love, however, only Rosamund Pike fully succeeds as Fanny (paradoxically the least fleshed out of the three characters in Mitfords' books), whom she plays as a dreamy and naive rose; Megan Dodds does not do enough with Polly Hampton, who marries against her mother's wishes, and Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh plays the key role of Linda Radlett as mostly frivolous rather than as the rueful romantic Mitford imagined. It also seems to have been a mistake to tell the stories of both novels concurrently rather than sequentially, since THE PURSUIT OF LOVE becomes darker as it proceeds whereas the original LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE becomes frothier; the adapter, Deborah Moggach, does not adjust well for these changes in tone when they run against one another.

Having read both of the novels that this mini series is based on (and loving both of them) I was afraid that this adaptation might disappoint me, but even though the pace is pretty fast (I'm not quite sure that someone who is not familiar with the books would be able to follow the many stories, the loads of characters and the various threads) I loved the way they conveyed the spirit of the books and enjoyed this mini-series a lot.
The casting was excellent, the period was perfectly represented and the stories were faithful to the books, so, having enjoyed the books immensely I consider this production a real treat.
The only drawbacks I can think of are the fast pace and the fact that a lot of the humor of the books didn't make it into the adaptation.

The BBC's Love in a Cold Climate, based on the Nancy Mitford novels The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, tell the stories of three young girls from aristocratic backgrounds: Fanny, Linda, and Polly, as they struggle to live life and find love amongst a changing world.

The production values of the series are wonderful, but the script needed to be MUCH longer. Screenwriter Deborah Moggach tried to fit too many events into a two and a half hour timespan. There was obviously a reason Mitford divided the story into two books. One leaves the film feeling quite rushed.

However, wonderful performances from Rosamund Pike as Fanny and Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh as Linda. There are some quite funny moments.

I wish I had the opportunity of watching the 1980 British TV version of Love in a Cold Climate [7 hours long]. This 2001 version attempts to condense Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love into a 150 minutes production. It doesn't do justice to the books, but it certainly entertains, and the acting is simply marvelous.

The story is told from the point of view of Fanny [Rosamund Pike]who lives on her eccentric Uncle Matthew Radlett's [Alan Bates] estate with her cousin Linda [Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh] and her family. Fanny narrates their exploits as young women coming out into society and their rather unconventional upbringing, with Fanny herself having an infamous eloper for a mother, nicknamed The Bolter. The two young ladies approach love very differently, as does another one of their peer group, the aristocratic beauty, Polly Montdore[ Megan Dodds]. Whilst Fanny ultimately marries for love and settles into domestic bliss, Linda and Fanny go through much mishap in their love lives.

It is the three actors who portray the young women who are at the forefront of the story, and the men in their lives form a backdrop without really being of much substance. The story is part-autobiographical, for it is based on Nancy Mitford's own unconventional life and makes for compelling viewing. The production is of high-quality with the sets and costumes being very authentic to the period portrayed, circa 1929-1940.

This is an enjoyable series with good character development, and will appeal to Anglophiles and fans of period dramas.

This is another movie that I rented on Netflix and immediately after viewing it I knew I had to have my own copy. I enjoy this period in history and times that will never return. I started out feeling sorry for the very lovely Rosamund Pike who always gets treated as a second-class citizen but after all comes out a winner in the end. In fact, she is the major reason that I bought the DVD. All of the actors did a great job and there are many seasoned ones that helped make this film so good. If you have viewed enough films from England or by English authors, you will be delighted to see them once again. I can't recall her name right now but if you've ever seen "Anna Karenena", the lovely actress that played the trouble-making princess appears in this film as a mother of a problem child, not as pretty anymore but still plays a fantastic role. If you have any kind of a soul, you'll love this film!

Having just read Nancy Mitford's two highly entertaining novels, The PURSUIT OF LOVE and LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE, I was eagerly anticipating this DVD. I was definitely not disappointed. Since the events in the two novels ran concurrently, it was only natural to make one movie combining the two books. Not an easy feat, I'm sure, but one the screen writers handled with great aplomb. Fanny, Linda, and Polly come across with all the privilege and passion Mitford endowed them with. Their search for love with all its witty charm and biting satire is portrayed as it was in the book. The physical transformation of Lady Montdore was even better in the movie since it was, as the saying goes, just too good to be true! Perfect casting, excellent scenery and scenic design (including Batsford Park, the actual home of the Mitford family) make this a wonderful tribute to the books. If you enjoyed the books or just love to watch movies about a vanished way of life, I highly recommend this DVD.

This version of Love in a Cold Climate is good but it is not nearly as well done as the 1980 version starring Michael Aldridge and Judi Dench. Why does Amazon not carry this version?

I picked up the book about two years ago and really enjoyed the world that Nancy Mitford created so when I saw that the BBC made a film I was excited because they are usually well written and acted. I was disappointed with this one however. I feel the writing failed to capture the light hearted essence of the novel and took itself way too seriously. And from there, it's dreariness pulled the cast down with it. It's a romance at the end of the day and there was nothing romantic about the cinematography or costumes or settings and it's set in the Cotswolds! I find that area to be full of atmosphere none of which is captured on film. Celia Imrie (an excellent actress usually) made some terrible choices playing Aunt Sadie as continuously on the brink of a crying jag. The three lead actresses do well with their parts but overall are miscast. Rosamund Pike is just too beautiful to play Fanny (even with mousy brown hair) and would have been much better suited to the golden-haired, strong-willed Polly. That would have been something to see. I wouldn't waste my money - spend the time re-reading the book instead.

The characters in Love in a Cold Climate are so believable and even with their flaws very lovable. The acting is superior and the story line is so interesting you can't wait to see what happens next. The story follows the lives of several girls who are dear friends who go through the joys and tragedies of life. The venues are a country estate in England, London, Paris and Russia....a sweeping saga. I love watching it and every time I have more insight into the characters. Definitely a movie you will want to watch more than one time! Rosamund Pike and Elizabeth Dermot-Walsh are marvelous as well as all the supporting characters. A must see for those who enjoy period movies!