I think there are two ways to look at MGM's 'That Forsyte Woman', an 'adaptation' of John Galsworthy's 'Forsyte Saga' (book one), the one in which Soames meets Irene.
First, you can compare it with the story as written, and find it full of holes, omissions, misinterpretations, and tacked-on happy endings (a wedding for June?). All that is strong and perceptive about the book (and its subsequent TV adaptation in the 1960s) is omitted, from the subplot on Jo Forsyte's marriage and dismissal from the clan, the humour of the minor characters, especially the older Forsyte brothers and sisters, and the central cauldron of emotion between Soames and his young wife Irene, culminating in his forcing of conjugal rights and her leaving for pastures new, and the subsequent suicide of her young lover. In this light, 'That Forsyte Woman' is a travesty and an over-simplification. It is woefully miscast - Robert Young and Greer Garson are too old for Bosinney and Irene - and poorly scripted, with no concept of what the Forsytes stood for (the glory and tradition of the old England).
Or, you can wallow in it as a fine old melodrama from Hollywood's finest studio, with the most expensive casting and Technicolor lavished upon it. Pared down to that oldest of love stories - girl meets boy, but he's not the right boy - and with a bit of tragedy thrown in at the end. There's some humour - notably with old Jolyon (Harry Davenport) wishing he doesn't have to dance with old ladies - and a nice bookend of plot involving the gift of paintings - and as an afternoon matinée film, standing on its own, it succeeds remarkably, with the protagonists Soames and Irene parting on good terms.
It's a case of take your pick and watch the film from whatever angle you please.
First, you can compare it with the story as written, and find it full of holes, omissions, misinterpretations, and tacked-on happy endings (a wedding for June?). All that is strong and perceptive about the book (and its subsequent TV adaptation in the 1960s) is omitted, from the subplot on Jo Forsyte's marriage and dismissal from the clan, the humour of the minor characters, especially the older Forsyte brothers and sisters, and the central cauldron of emotion between Soames and his young wife Irene, culminating in his forcing of conjugal rights and her leaving for pastures new, and the subsequent suicide of her young lover. In this light, 'That Forsyte Woman' is a travesty and an over-simplification. It is woefully miscast - Robert Young and Greer Garson are too old for Bosinney and Irene - and poorly scripted, with no concept of what the Forsytes stood for (the glory and tradition of the old England).
Or, you can wallow in it as a fine old melodrama from Hollywood's finest studio, with the most expensive casting and Technicolor lavished upon it. Pared down to that oldest of love stories - girl meets boy, but he's not the right boy - and with a bit of tragedy thrown in at the end. There's some humour - notably with old Jolyon (Harry Davenport) wishing he doesn't have to dance with old ladies - and a nice bookend of plot involving the gift of paintings - and as an afternoon matinée film, standing on its own, it succeeds remarkably, with the protagonists Soames and Irene parting on good terms.
It's a case of take your pick and watch the film from whatever angle you please.