Andrew Scott and Lily James star in The Pursuit Of LovePhoto: Robert Vigalsky/Amazon Studios
The Favourite did what Sofia Coppolas Marie Antoinette failed to doinspire a revolution in period piece aesthetics. Since Yorgos Lanthimos oddball royal court dramedy swept the Oscars, Apple TV+s Dickinson, HulusThe Great, Autumn de Wildes Emma, and Greta Gerwigs Little Women have all found success in injecting contemporary style and a modern sensibility into the standard historical drama template. And for its first episode, at least, Amazon Prime Videos interwar drama The Pursuit Of Love follows suit. When young British cousins Linda Radlett (Lily James) and Fanny Logan (Emily Beecham) meet their neighbor Lord Merlin (Fleabags Andrew Scott), the eccentric aristocrat is introduced in a fantasy sequence that channels ballroom culture by way of glam rock. Set to T. Rexs Dandy In The Underworld, the glitter-filled scene filters a late 1920s experience through a distinctly modern visual language in order to make this meeting of minds feel as alive as it would have to its characters. Its an exhilarating mix of style and substance.
B
Emily Mortimer; based on Nancy Mitford's novel of the same name
Lily James, Emily Beecham, Dominic West, Andrew Scott, Emily Mortimer, Freddie Fox, Shazad Latif, Assaad Bouab
Friday, July 30 on Amazon Prime Video
Hour-long period dramedy; complete limited series watched for review
Its just a shame the rest of the show cant keep up that level of verve. After the premiere launches the series with visual flair and a unique point of view, the next two episodes slowly devolve into more standard period piece fare. Despite its initial promise of quirky innovation, The Pursuit Of Love is mostly anchored by the familiar building blocks of a BBC co-production: sumptuous costuming, gorgeous cinematography, and strong performances. Based on Nancy Mitfords 1945 novel of the same name, the show can only intermittently keep its spark of originality alive. The Pursuit Of Love oftenstruggles to blend its kitschy comedic sensibilities with its more dramatic beatsalthough its a joy to watch when it does.
Set between 1927 and 1941, The Pursuit Of Love centers on the divergent experiences of its two female leads. Plain, pragmatic Fanny (Beecham) was given a good education but has a natural timidity and a desire not to rock the boat that sets her on the path towards a conventional life of mid-20th-century womanhood. Linda (James), meanwhile, is a beautiful, free-spirited rebel who lives in a world of superlatives. Her stern father (Dominic West, hilarious and terrifying) believes women shouldnt be educated and raises his children in what amounts to a glamorous prison at their wealthy country estate. That leaves Linda both woefully nave and desperate to escape, which sets her on a series of complicated romantic entanglements that come to define her tragicomic life. Love may be her religion, but shes worshipping at a fickle altar.
The three-episode series is adapted and directed by Emily Mortimer, who also has a small role as Fannys mother The Bolter, the responsibility-averse serial monogamist that Fanny and Linda define their lives against. Mortimer zeroes in on the either/or limitations put on upper class women in this era: They can be dutiful wives and mothers with social respectability but not a whole lot of fun or freedom (the stickers). Or they can put their own needs before that of their spouses and children, carving out a sense of independence but losing their social respect in the process (the bolters). Fanny and Lindas friendship is defined by the way they alternately fear and crave what the other has. As in her previous series, Doll & Em, Mortimer is interested in complex relationships between women. Linda and Fanny share both an aspirational intimacy and a toxic co-dependency, which Mortimer allows to ebb and flow in realistic and compelling ways.
G/O Media may get a commission
The main problem with The Pursuit Of Love is that it very much feels like a novel condensed into a limited series formnot least of all because of Fannys near-incessant narration throughout the series. The focused first episode gives way to a jam-packed second installment that weaves its way across England before hopping to 1930s Hollywood, a refugee camp at the border of the Spanish War, and eventually Gay Paree. The supporting characters are thinly sketched, while the relationship between Fanny and Linda battles for screen time with Lindas various romantic conquests. The Pursuit Of Love either needed more episodes to explore its decade-long story or Mortimer needed to be a little more judicious in what she cut from the source material.
It doesnt help that Linda is like a cross between Downton Abbeys Lady Rose andMamma Mia! Here We Go Agains Donna Sheridan, with a dash of War And Peaces Natasha Rostova. This isnt just a part James could play in her sleep, but one she basically already has. Though James effortlessly zings between flirtatious fun and deep melancholy, shes missing a spark of freshness as this Bright Young Thing, especially when she has to spend the entire first episode playing a teenager. Its yet another element of familiarity that weighs down The Pursuit Of Love. While the shows focus on female friendship and feminist themes is appreciable, its not all that radical to see a British period piece center on relationships between beautiful, upper class white womenas much of James own career can attest.
Instead, the most relevant themes that emerge from The Pursuit Of Love are about what its like to live at a time when it feels like the world is about to end. With war in Europe imminent, Linda initially tries to find purpose in communism only to eventually bury herself in a frivolous life of shopping and luxury instead. She was possessed by a calm and happy fatalism, Fanny explains in voiceover as Linda meets the rise of fascism by purchasing yet another new outfit. Its not entirely unlike the way we must all figure out how to cope in the current face of climate change, a global pandemic, and yet another rise in fascism. Like the glam rock montages and wry Wes Anderson-inspired cutaways, Lindas glamorous nihilism adds a spiky edge that occasionally jazzes up The Pursuit Of Loves classic period piece formula with something new.
The rest is here:
Amazon Prime Videos The Pursuit Of Love peaks in its stylish premiere - The A.V. Club
- Voices: Working-class men like Steve Wright don't go to the doctor and that's exactly the problem... - Yahoo News UK - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- "Superman Defeats Nihilism": Grant Morrison Loved an Obscure Alan Moore Story So Much They Almost Remixed It - Screen Rant - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The rise of stay-at-home girlfriends - UnHerd - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- 'Fargo' Recap, Season 5, Episode 2: Trials and Tribulations - Vulture - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- What's the matter with Russia? - The Hub - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- The Killer: The unintentional comedy of the year? - EL PAS USA - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Eli Roth's Thanksgiving Keeps A Disappointing 2023 Slasher Trend ... - Screen Rant - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Bobby McDonagh: The Rule of Law matters more than ever when ... - TheJournal.ie - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- A 2023 gift guide: 10 ideas for the music lover in your life - 25 News KXXV and KRHD - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Ten Great Sci-fi TV Shows that Promote Reason and Individualism - The Objective Standard - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Jonathan Sacks: Are Science and Religion Enemies? - The Collector - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- An open letter to all of my progressive friends - New York Daily News - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- The Two Tragedies of November 22nd - The American Conservative - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Speculating on the ceasefire moment in Gaza - rabble.ca - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- In Defense of Stigma - The Stream - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Pro-lockdown obsessives still long to be told what to do - Yahoo Eurosport UK - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- 8 signs you're a mentally strong person (even if you don't think so) - Hack Spirit - November 26th, 2023 [November 26th, 2023]
- Trump Gets Fined in Court but Wins in the House - The New Yorker - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- The challenges to democracy [letter] | Letters To The Editor ... - LNP | LancasterOnline - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Standing against the insidious spread of euthanasia | News, Sports ... - The Daily Times - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- A large chunk of Republicans are quite set on voting for the face ... - Daily Kos - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Israel's civic strength in response to the Hamas attacks should stiffen ... - The Hub - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- No Time to Go Wobbly on Russia - Center for European Policy Analysis - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Blinken to Security Council: Where's the revulsion over Hamas attacks - The Times of Israel - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Opinion | In Israel and Gaza, Searching for Humanity - The New York Times - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Donald Trump to testify in NY AG Case - Daily Kos - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Thom Nickels: Demonic nihilism? It's not just on the streets. - Broad + Liberty - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Reflections on the Revolution in America | Pavlos Leonidas ... - First Things - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Why It's Always Raining In The Movie Se7en: David Fincher's ... - Screen Rant - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Poetic Time In The Age Of Acceleration - Noema Magazine - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Review: Zilched releases her best work yet in 'Earthly Delights' - WDET - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Phoebe Bridgers thinks we confuse sadness with intelligence: Listen ... - Audacy - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Called to be a man in Christ, not a Nietzschean superman - Catholic World Report - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Why The Last Voyage of the Demeter Sank at the Box Office - MovieWeb - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Forget GTA 6 and Red Dead Redemption, I want Manhunt 3 - PCGamesN - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Gabriel Krauze: raw writing from the streets of London - RNZ - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- The Ideal Man According to 7 Different Philosophers - Art of Manliness - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- Review: In How to Blow Up a Pipeline, nihilism is optimism - Detroit Metro Times - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Beaten To Death Review: Disturbing Australian Horror Lives Up To Its Title [Panic Fest 2023] - Dread Central - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- David Brooks: Joe Biden and the 'battle for the soul of America' l - Baltimore Sun - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Ram Jams: Fall Out Boy, New Album and Era - Fordham Observer - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Tucker Carlson Is the Emblem of GOP Cynicism - The Atlantic - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- One Night in Washington, D.C., With George Santos - The Intercept - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Reddit study finds interesting facts about typical Blue Jays fans - Jays Journal - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Yale Professor Breaks Down Years of Violent Conflict Between ... - The Greyhound - April 29th, 2023 [April 29th, 2023]
- Nietzsche, Friedrich | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- 30 Religious Terms You Should Know - Daily Writing Tips - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- The Difference Between Existentialism, Nihilism, and Absurdism - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- Philosophical skepticism - Wikipedia - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Simon Critchley - Wikipedia - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- 'World is Crumbling. An Email Doesn't Matter': 2022 Was the Year of Nihilism. How Do We Move On? - News18 - December 23rd, 2022 [December 23rd, 2022]
- Moscow accuses West of legal nihilism RT Russia & Former Soviet Union - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- Wordsworths Challenge to Darwinian Nihilism | Evolution News - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- I Fear My Pain Interests You by Stephanie LaCava review numb nihilism ... - November 19th, 2022 [November 19th, 2022]
- Editorial: In the Face of Climate Nihilism, What Can One Do to Not Lose All Hope? | Opinions - The Link - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Cardinal Mller Reasserts the Dangers of Nihilism The European Conservative - The European Conservative - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- The Midnight Club Is a Teen Horror Show Thats Actually Scary: TV Review - Yahoo Entertainment - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Hiltzik: GOP cruelty counts on the humanity of others - Los Angeles Times - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Screen Grabs: A revisionist Western that still shines bright - 48 hills - 48 Hills - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Russian Roulette: How Ukraine Can Win the Game (Part 1) - Kyiv Post - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- What 20 Years of Putin's Own Words Tell Us About Russia's Subversion of International Law - JURIST - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- 'Triangle of Sadness' Review: Hazardous Levels of Smug - Vulture - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- In China, Only the Party Tells History - Foreign Policy - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- The Infinite Nihilistic Jest of Brian Ennals and Infinity Knives - Yahoo Entertainment - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- No Laughing Matter: Bodies Bodies Bodies Is Too Cynical to Be Much Fun - Erie Reader - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Oliver Jeffers Gets Perspective With Meanwhile Back on Earth - TIME - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Talkin' About My Generation: How Boomers Became Deaf, Dumb, and Blind To The Inspiration and Innovation of Rock and Roll - MetalTalk - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- 'Cult of the Lamb' and the bleating heart of nihilism - Catholic News Service - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- The Infinite Nihilistic Jest of Brian Ennals and Infinity Knives - Spin - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- This cosmic horror game will force you to trust characters to survive - Polygon - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Belief in God can help us find a purpose in life that we are currently lacking - David J Nixon - The Scotsman - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- "Date Night" by White Lung - Northern Transmissions - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Lyrically Speaking: What is Bob Dylans All Along the Watchtower actually about? - Far Out Magazine - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Pinocchio (2022): Disney wished on another wrong star - Campus Times - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- The Complicated Legacy Of 'Rick And Morty' - The Federalist - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- "Soul and Things" - Baltimore Beat - September 22nd, 2022 [September 22nd, 2022]
- Ukraine Holds the Future: The War Between Democracy and Nihilism - Foreign Affairs Magazine - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Hedgerow Theatre Company Dives Into The Darkness With Martin McDonagh's THE PILLOWMAN, October 5-31 - Broadway World - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- The skate punk brats of the '90s are back to ruin our lives again - Cult MTL - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Kurt Russell's Best Movie Was A Critical And Box Office Disaster - Giant Freakin Robot - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]