Affairs of the Heart (1974– )

Affairs of the Heart. Series Two. 2 DVD's. Adaptations of stories by Henry James.

Emma (Lord Beaupre). I can't make anything of this; it is possibly the worst story James ever wrote. I feel sorry for Cheryl Campbell and the rest of the cast as they try to make this limp affair interesting.

Bessie (An International Episode). Somewhat better; I feel more at home with these characters and Sinead Cusack is very watchable as an American in England.

Kate (The Bench of Desolation). Wonderful story, excellent acting from Eileen Atkins and the rest. Kate comes back to small town she left when the man she loved decided to marry someone else. She has enacted a revenge on the feckless man: his wife and child have both died and he has lost his bookshop and is living in poverty. Chilling and yet very human too.

Daisy (Daisy Miller). Georgina Hale was the little English hottie of the 70's for Ken Russell and other directors--here she is impressive as the scandalous American girl racketting around Rome with third-rate people (as the Establishment sees her). Daniel Massey is excellent as the befuddled Winterbourne. This is much better than the Bogdanovich version with Cybill Shepherd.

Leonie (Nona Vincent). Barbara Murray plays Leonie, a rich older woman with a boy toy playwright. She tries to encourage her man, but things get complicated. Not bad acting, but story a little contrived.

Elizabeth (The Great Condition). The acting by Diane Cilento, Derek Jacobi (I have never seen him look so young) and Edward Hardwicke is superb. Elizabeth seems to be keeping a secret about her past, but is she really? Jacobi is so comical as he tries to ferret out some detail in this woman's past.

That's it for now. I will look out for the set of Series One.