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allison-oliver
Reviews
Melissa (1997)
Brilliant reworking of a Francis Durbridge classic
I am a huge fan of the 1974 production which remains faithful to the Original story. However I would have been very disappointed if this 1997 version had of turned out to be precisely the same. Whilst it would have still been very watchable it would have been essentially going over old ground due to the excellently portrayed earlier version. What Alan Bleasdale gives us in his version is a prologue to the original story which provides additional story lines and much more background to the original characters and how some of their pasts link up with one another. In the original story Cape Town is only mentioned in passing, however Alan Bleasdale uses this setting to portray Guy's past and how he meets Melissa as well as a backdrop for three additional murders. In my opinion this production was brilliantly written and offered us something much more than just a straight forward adaptation and the additional material fits seamlessly in to the original story. The cast consists of very well established names which results in very strong and memorable performances all round.
The Vacillations of Poppy Carew (1995)
Very Disappointing
After such a successful dramatisation of the Camomile Lawn I was looking forward to seeing the Vacillations Of Poppy Carew, especially considering the cast, Sian Phillips, Joseph Fiennes and Tara Fitzgerald to name but three. Unfortunately the end result is unpolished and looks very cheap in comparison. Having read the novel beforehand quite a lot of the story is missing and only runs for 1 and a half hours. The Camomile Lawn is a similar size novel and had the benefit of 4 hours to produce a faithful adaptation. Very disappointing considering how good it could have been.
In response to a comment made by a previous reviewer with regards to a particularly unpleasant scene involving a lynch mob, I too felt it changed the whole tone of the story. When I read the book I remember thinking whether that scene was necessary, as I got to the end of the book I came to the conclusion that it was not.