#violet manville

[the-carlyle-review]

“Of Manners and Murder” Review

I took a quick detour between Scarlet and Cress to read Of Manners and Murder. This was less out of a need for a break and more-so because I brought Of Manners and Murders on my roadtrip, but not Cress. Once I finished Scarlet, I immediately turned to the next available option.

Like Cinder, I was drawn to this book in Barnes and Noble because of its cover and title. In all honesty, I was hoping that this book would be similar to Gail Carriger’s Finishing School books, one of my favorite series. I really appreciated the era in which people were writing books in ye old English times that focused on women taking names and kicking ass, and I was hoping that this would be a more modern take on that era.

I was half right. While Hastings’ book lacks some of the supernatural or steampunk elements that older books of this manner included, I believe she still did a very good job capturing the whimsy of a woman doing things she’s not expected to at that time. Not to mention the amazing opening of the book and the interesting character of Violet herself, alongside her aunt. 

The book had a bit of a slow start, but it was intriguing to go through the mystery alongside Violet. Once you get to know all the characters in the story, Hastings does a good job of throwing bits and pieces out about the mystery murder, and the reader is left trying to solve the puzzle at the same pace as Violet. It’s possible that I’m just not a very good detective, but I believe that Hastings does a good job burying the ‘whodunnit’ lead, leaving the reader in suspense until the very end of the novel. I look forward to reading the second novel in this series, which is expected to hit shelves in January of 2024. Further thoughts can be found below the cover art, though they’ll include spoilers!

Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings (A Dear Miss Hermione Mystery #1): ⭐ 7/10 ⭐

Spoilers lay beyond this path; take heed!

I think that Hastings did a very good job creating intrigue and making us wonder who it was, exactly, that killed Ivy. She did a great job making all of her suspects seem like actual suspects, and the fact that Violet was able to talk to each and every one of them made it even more interesting because you got to hear so many sides of the story. Violet really did just stumble into a funeral and then go around and gossip with everyone left alive in town, as someone who no one knew because the first time they saw her was in a cemetery, and then eventually figure out who murdered Ivy. She’s an icon.

The side-characters in this story also add to the likability of the novel: her enigmatic aunt who we only see for a brief moment; Violet’s half-sister Sephora who has her own struggles of love and mystery in the novel; and Eli Marsh, the interesting man who appears towards the end of the book and vexed Violet with his sudden and continued presence. 

As this series is still being added to, I’m interested to see how the characters and their relationships grow and develop. I’d like to see how Violet and Sephora’s relationship changes, as they were relatively detached in this first book up until the last couple of chapters. I’d also like to see the role that Eli Marsh plays; as I said, he entered into play very late in the game, but his character seems fun and I’m looking forward to his future encounters with Violet. I’d also like to see more of Aunt Adelia and her connections; I’m wondering if she will make an in-person appearance in the second novel, or if she’ll stay off the board. 

[verypersonalscreencaps]

More publicity stills of Harlots season 3. Premiere on July 10 on Hulu

[fanchonmoreau]

Two queer women that I love dead in one week on tv means my blacklist is working overtime. Please tag holby city and harlots, I know y’all hate it as much as I do, but I am just noping out so hard that... yeah. 

Can shows just... stop? Or not? I am on vacation for almost two weeks starting now and I would like a break? 

[cptrs]

[aion-rsa]

Harlots: A Witty Blend of History and Fiction

https://ift.tt/3kayLkC

Like all the best TV opening titles, Harlots’ comical, brazen credits sequence announces its personality in miniature. A collage-style animation set to modern music, it shows cut-out characters from William Hogarth’s 18th-century painting series A Harlot’s Progress clustered around a giant, luridly colored female nude. They tuck into her crevices, canoodle on her mountainous behind, nestle between her buttocks, and peep out over the top of two plump hillock breasts. In the shadow between her thighs, female prisoners toil (just another day at the mine), and finally, she’s on her back, legs spread wide as the show’s title appears dead centre: Harlots. Come on in.

It’s a bold start that announces Harlots’ defiantly effervescent approach to a period and industry – sex work in the 18th century – that could in other hands be wall-to-wall syphilis and woe. It uses Hogarth’s instructive moralism (the six paintings of A Harlot’s Progress depict an innocent girl falling under the wicked spell of a city bawd, becoming a courtesan and a streetwalker, going to prison, and dying of the pox) for its own ends, wittily repurposing a historical cartoon as the entryway to a rich human drama. 

‘The whore’s eye view’

“Everything from the whore’s eye view,” is the rule on Harlots, says producer Alison Owen. Nudity and sex acts are obviously central to the show’s premise, but it presents them from a new angle. Literally.

Having noted how often sex scenes on TV are filmed with the camera looking down on a supine woman, Harlots wanted to show things differently, co-creator Moira Buffini told The Frame. Key to that approach was the use of female directors, led by head director Coky Giedroyc.

“We knew right from the word go that this would really work seen from a female gaze,” says Buffini. Unlike elsewhere on TV, Harlots’ brothel scenes wouldn’t offer titillation; they would show a workplace at work. 

After the first and second seasons went out, co-creator Alison Newman was delighted with positive feedback received from viewers in the sex industry who said they recognized their own working lives and experiences on screen. Harlots is set two and a half centuries ago, but its themes are timeless.

Buffini has described the role of sex in Harlots as the same role played by violence in The Sopranos – it’s the characters’ job, which is what makes them unusual, but not what makes them interesting. Just as The Wire’s focus on the drug trade widened to explore its impact on politics, education, and the press, Harlots’ focus on the sex trade widens to explore justice, religion, the aristocracy, and, at the root of it all, money.

‘The only safety is in money’

That’s the mantra of Margaret Wells, former harlot, now a bawd who runs her own “Disorderly House.” Played by Samantha Morton, she’s mother to celebrated courtesan Charlotte (Jessica Findlay Brown) and her beloved new-to-the-game Lucy (Eloise Smyth). Despite a backstory as terrible as they come, Margaret has emerged a fighter with a keen sense of how to survive in a world where even aristocratic women have little economic power. 

Economics is Harlots’ real subject, says Buffini. The sale and purchase of sex, its fluctuating value (virginity, real or fabricated could be auctioned off to aristocrats for £50 – closer to £1000 in today’s money – while others made shillings standing up in alleyways) and the short lifespan of those who sold it isn’t just a backdrop to these characters’ lives, it’s the fabric of them.  

Read more

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Keenly aware of what her girls are up against in 18th century London, Margaret teaches that “money is a woman’s only power in this world,” and only lasting wealth can make them free. It’s a shrewd perspective from a strategic thinker. Margaret Wells is certainly no hero, but her resolve and gumption make her fascinating to watch.

Equally fascinating is Lydia Quigley, played by Lesley Manville. The owner of an exclusive and fashionable brothel, Quigley is a monster shaped by her own abusive start in life. A sadist and kidnapper who profits from feeding corrupt appetites, she’s a villain. And yet … Manville makes her human, and between them, she and Morton make the Quigley/Wells rivalry darkly layered and involving.

Elsewhere, Holli Dempsey is vibrant and thrillingly unpredictable as the headstrong Emily Lacey. Findlay-Brown is captivating as Charlotte. Dorothy Atkinson, Dougie McMeekin, Bronwyn James, Hugh Skinner… It’s a strong cast, packed with entertaining characters each on journeys of their own.

The Covent Garden Ladies

Harlots doesn’t feature real historical characters, but its ensemble is drawn from a variety of real-world sources. When Buffini and Newman began to research the period, a starting point was historian Hallie Rubenhold’s 2005 book, The Covent Garden Ladies: The Extraordinary Story of Harris’s List. The list in question was an annual directory/review compendium of London’s brothel workers that’s been described as the equivalent of an 18th-century Yelp for the sex trade. Among its entries is courtesan Charlotte Hayes, who, along with the infamous Kitty Fisher, provided inspiration for the character of Charlotte Wells.

The Old Bailey trial records provided another source of real-life cases tried against bawds and sex workers – like Ann Duck, the inspiration for Violet Cross (Rosalind Eleazar). Merely touching on real-world inspirations leaves Harlots free to rewrite history to suit the needs of the story, and not to slavishly follow a prepared path for any of its characters. 

Buffini and co. found a paucity of surviving 18th-century writing by women in the industry, so were forced to make several leaps of the imagination while planning the series. The autobiography of sex shop owner Teresia Philips offered some help. Lydia Quigley’s real-world counterpart – Elizabeth Needham – who was notorious enough to feature as a caricature in the Hogarth paintings used in Harlots’ opening credits (she’s the woman luring the freshly arrived innocent to her sordid doom) offered a little more. The inspirations that fed into the characters of Nancy Birch, Harriet Lennox, and Mary Cooper are all discussed in this excellent and detailed article by historian and Whores of Yore curator Dr. Kate Lister. 

‘The flip-side of the Jane Austen novel’

It wasn’t only real life that provided inspiration for Harlots, but also the literature of the age. In this interview, Buffini explains that the character of Anne Pettifer, a young woman in Quigley’s employ, was inspired by one of Jane Austen’s creations. “Our idea for Anne Pettifer was that she’s Lydia Bennet,” explained Buffini. 

In Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the Bennet family experiences a scandal that, if not resolved, would stop all four of Lydia’s sisters from marrying well. 15-year-old Lydia runs away to London with an older man who has no intention of marrying her until he’s paid to do so by a wealthy benefactor.

“What would have happened to Lydia Bennet without a shadow of a doubt (if she hadn’t been rescued) is that she would have ended up in a house like Mrs. Quigley’s,” Buffini said. “Our drama is about the Lydia Bennets of this world, who don’t get rescued by men, and the girls who have even fewer economic choices than Lydia Bennet.”

‘Dancing on the edge of an abyss’

If that makes Harlots sound bleak, it isn’t. Yes, its historical period was a desperate time for many. Its characters face unmentionable hardships and almost perpetual existential threats – from the law, from poverty and disease, from their “culls,” and from each other – but this isn’t a drama mired in woe or pity. It’s about survival. Its world, just like ours (because in many ways, it still is ours), is awful and funny, terrible and warm, sad and joyful at the same time. 

That combination, pitched somewhere between high drama and comedy, is part of what made Harlots a peculiar sell. As Buffini explained to The Frame, the channels they took it to before landing on US streaming service Hulu struggled to grasp its tone. They didn’t understand the role of humor and wit in hardship. After three series, Hulu cancelled the show, after which point the BBC bought the UK airing rights.

“We think it’s about women who are dancing on the edge of an abyss,” Buffini said, “But they are dancing on the edge of an abyss. Right from the word go, we thought that we would show them dancing.”  

Harlots series one arrives on BBC Two on Wednesday the 5th of August at 9pm with a double-bill

The post Harlots: A Witty Blend of History and Fiction appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/39YYl7x

[kuningannasansa]

quick 03x01 thoughts

I liked it! Everyone on tumblr has been so negative that I wasn’t expecting much but I liked it!

Yes, there are some flaws, like Isabella’s weird personality transplant and the absence of Amelia, Violet and Hunt, but overall it was entertaining

and most of all LUCY!! my girl!! she has risen from the ashes I wish Fallon was here to see and weep and she’s more glorious than ever! Really intrigued by the new characters in her storyline too, can’t wait to see more of the molly house! 

Also, I’m glad they brough Lydia’s stepmom(?) back, she was so delightfully creepy!

Speaking of, thou, poor Lydia! She deserves to be punished for her crimes but not THIS! I mean, I guess 18th century prisons weren’t much better, but still this does not look like justice to me and just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Super intrigued by her relationship with her adorable cellmate thou! AND THE ACTING!! Lesley Manville is so good in the “mad” bits it legit gave me chills!

The Charlotte/pimp thing seems like kind of a Fallon/Lucy redux, but I’m willing to give it a chance, mostly cause I like Alfie Allen. The way they’re portraying it is weird thou... like, he justifies his actions with living in poverty etc, which is fine from his point of view, but I just don’t see Charlotta buying into that, seems kinda OOC.  

I was so scared for Nancy omg! Thank god she’s alright! 

[nellygwyn]

Harlots Season 3, Episode 1 - Reaction, thoughts etc.

I am just gonna be as candid as possible about all this, and give you my honest thoughts (albeit borne out of a 3am migraine and period pains) about episode 1. I think I might break my thoughts down by storyline. Spoilers ahead:

• Charlotte Wells - So, initially, I was loving Charlotte. She was the Charlotte I know and love. Even when the Pincher storyline began to unfold and Isaac appeared in her life, I initially thought 'Charlotte is dealing with this in the Charlotte way. He's hateful to her so she laughs at him and plays him at his own stupid game.' Unfortunately, it appears that there is going to be some kind of romance between the two, or at least a sexual relationship, which began to unfold in the last part of the episode. This is a violent pimp, a class of people Charlotte has always hated, who lied to her, choked her and wants to bleed her dry. He threatened the girls in her house and then, he set fire to it, with Nancy and Fanny's baby inside. And this is supposed to be sexy? No. Like, I can't predict how this will ultimately end but I'm sorry, if the season finale isn't a shot of Isaac Pincher dead in the Thames, I really....really am disappointed they decided to sell this relationship as anything other than ooc for Charlotte and illogical. Also, can I just say that bawds and pimps worked with each other all the time? This is why Charlotte should never have BEEN a bawd. Bawds are not the pinnacle of feminism, they were often awful (and if not awful then morally grey) and pimps, that they often worked alongside, were worse. I don't think most of the bawds in the show are wholly bad but they were never wholly good either and presenting them as 'the sisterhood'...hello????

• Isabella - Now you guys know I do not like Isabella. I did like her and then at the end of Season 2, she threw Charlotte and other sex workers to the metaphorical wolves. However, S3 opens a year later and everything is...fine again, apparently? Charlotte forgives her, is probably even having sex with her sometimes. Even Nancy was nice to her, despite how much she riled against her at the end of S2. HOW IN THE HELL have we got here? Isabella's character has kind of done a complete 180 too. She's kind and mild. Maybe they want to make Fitzwells work as a ship but idk about my fellow bi girls or even lesbians out there....how do you feel about a bi woman throwing herself at a sexually perverse violent man and leaving a woman who is kind and affectionate to her in the dust? Is that portrayal something you want? Anyway, Isabella was okay in the episode, nothing super exciting. Sophia was BORING AS HELL and I do not DO NOT care about her elopement. Like...okay? This feels irrelevant and unnecessary?? Also, another historical note: Isabella wanted her friends to give money to Charlotte and her house, right? Their refusal obviously wasn't surprising to me, it was a massive risk on Isabella's part (ooc? Ooc) but when one of the women said 'You want us to give charity to harlots?' in a disgusted tone, I was just thinking like....that's exactly what you all already do. With the Magdalen Hospital and the Foundling Hospital. Late 18th century aristocrats were all about charity to sex workers. Not for the right reasons and not always in the most helpful ways but that was de rigueur. It wasn't the charity part that should've raised that lady's eyebrow, it was the fact Isabella was asking them to fund a brothel essentially.

• Emily Lacey - Her relationship with Hal Pincher is okay but like, again, he's a pimp, less violent than his brother but...birds of a feather flock together! I'm not really sure why she suddenly isn't very ambitious anymore but if she wants a lower middle class keeper? I support her. Also, lol, 'I wanna learn about commerce' as if 'commerce' wasn't also Georgian era slang for 'fucking.'

•Charles Quigley - I haven't forgotten how that little shit behaved at the end of Season 2 but I admit, I felt some sympathy with him or rather, pitied the fact that he was wallowing in his own sorrow. I wonder if he's left London for good...it did seem like they are trying to set up a romance between him and Fanny which...first of all, NO. Second of all, if he has to have a romance with someone that isn't Emily, why not Cherry? She adores him. But I feel as if she's used for comic relief a lot of the time, as if we're supposed to giggle at the fact that 1) a disabled sex worker exists, and 2) that she has quite a strong sexuality as well as having a disability. So maybe we won't see that, idk.

• Harriet - Harriet is based on a real person, a black woman who lived in Georgian London and decided to open a brothel populated purely with sex workers of colour. So I am glad they are finally getting into that storyline for her. We only met Rani properly, out of all her girls, and I adore her. Honestly, Harriet's storyline actually seems like it is gonna be great but also very minor, which is disappointing.

• Lydia - I hated the Bedlam storyline when it began and I am still unsure of it now. HOWEVER, since that's how things stand, I have to really praise Lesley Manville's acting power for making me root for Lydia and making me want her to be free again and bring a semblance of (evil) normality back to Covent Garden. What I REALLY hated was Catherine's intersecting storyline. Listen, lots of young girls got sent to Bedlam in the Georgian era but not usually for having sex with a servant. I know we often think of the past as being rife with doctors diagnosing sexually active women with hysteria and the like, but that wasn't really a thing at this point. In fact, attitudes towards the differences between men and women were just teetering on changing. Women were still seen as naturally hot blooded, men their prey at this point, and it wouldn't be until later on in the 18th century and into the 19th century that women were seen as naturally sexually modest and subservient and men, the hot blooded, libertine ones. It just feels...so dumb. I mean, I liked Catherine, I just want to know why that reason was used to chuck her in Bedlam. You know what might have actually been interesting? If she had some kind of depression or mental disability. Or even just for being a little weird, or non-conforming. They threw lower class women in for all those things and more.

• Lucy - One of the highlights of the episode, for me, was Lucy's storyline which intersects with new characters, Elizabeth Harvey and her son, Fredo (who is gorgeous and so foppish and ugh...it is a shame his character seems solely attracted to men because I...am a little bit in love). I was a little annoyed that Lucy wanting to be a bawd was presented as some kind of...regular ambition for a sex worker? As if being a bawd naturally followed being a courtesan. This isn't true. It's not like getting your undergraduate degree and then going to do your master's. Bawds were a very specific thing and most courtesan didn't want to essentially exploit women in that way. Anyway, after that fiasco, she does indeed go to buy a house and throws her lot in with Elizabeth and Fredo who want to open a mollyhouse. So, Lucy is a molly bawd now which to me, is a lot less awful than being a regular bawd. I'm excited to see where this goes, Elizabeth and Fredo were some WELCOME additions for me, along with Rani. Unfortunately, there were a lot of allusions to sodomy being a capital crime and Mrs May has a share in the house too so...I'm as worried about the outcome as I am excited to see mollyhouses explored.

All in all? I did enjoy the episode, perhaps because I was warned prior about some of the unsavoury things that happened and had time to prepare. I'm obviously very upset about the whole Charlotte and Isaac thing which does appear to be the dominant storyline, and that's not good. This season doesn't really understand what continuity is and Isabella walking into a gentleman's club to tell all the men there that she had a child out of wedlock made me laugh out loud because it was so absurd. Violet, Amelia, Florence and Justice Hunt have disappeared without a trace. Will and Jacob will be in the season but weren't in episode 1 (apparently they are in Scarborough, boxing, which....wig). BUT (and it's a very tentative 'but') this episode had enough small saving graces to spur me on to continue, if only to see Fredo say 'It's a hanging offence so it pays a lot, darling' again, and the gorgeous (GORGEOUS) costumes. Am I disappointed overall? Yeah. Do I think it is an irredeemable season? No, not yet. Watch this space.

[grayingskies]

ramblings on harlots 3x01, spoilers abound. warning: long and a fair bit negative.

overall, i think this episode cements that for me, harlots has lost some of its original charm. it was just underwhelming.

i’ll get the negative out of the way first:

one of the major issues for me is the focus on charlotte and isaac’s relationship. though they’re rivals, there’s this stated bond between them, this stated chemistry... which breaks one of the most basic rules of storytelling: “show not tell.” it might have been an easier pill to swallow if this were the very first episode of this show, but with two seasons under our belt and multiple interesting love stories for charlotte, lines as emotional as “you could have all this freely” to a guy who’s been here for only an episode feel distinctly unearned.

like many things, the conflict of isabella’s betrayal of charlotte went unmentioned. rather than resolving that plotline, giving it closure, they are now friends. of course, they could have repaired things sometime in the year skip, but it would have made for much richer storytelling to get to experience the fallout and subsequent repair of their relationship for ourselves.

and speaking of things that went unmentioned, while the loss of certain characters at the beginning of season 2 was rough, it’s even worse this season. amelia, violet, florence, hunt, nell, noah, hannah, and sukey, are missing without a trace. i cant’t tell if it’s better or worse in that for nell at least, rani seems to fit her role as harriet’s right hand woman to a t.

and again this season, “harlots” seems to be moving away from its central theme. in each different house, we know the name of only one sex worker who is not a bawd.

anyway, onto the positive:

though historically speaking, lucy’s quite young to be a bawd, the molly house plotline, i’m pretty excited for. the actual whole molly house scene of historical england is really a rich subject that drew me in when i first learned about it and i’m excited to see how they bring it to life on screen.

mrs. may’s involvement with the house is also promising, because while she’s objectively terrible, she’s greatly entertaining. mrs. harvey and her son fredo seem like some of the most interesting of the new characters and i think this plotline will honestly be the highlight of this season.

also rani was very funny and i liked her. i’m super stoked about harriet getting the screen time she deserves. and lesly manville as lydia quigley, as always, absolutely killed it.

things i’m unsure how they’ll pan out:

the moments between fanny and charles might be leading up to a romance. i would have never guessed this in a million years.

sophia running away with some guy is going to end very, very badly i’m predicting. i have a feeling that along with catherine, we might be experiencing two “fallen woman” plotlines this season. both of which could be interesting, but i have to admit, i really miss when this show was focused on lower class women.

anyway, hoping it finds its stride again in 3x02.

also, sidenote: i swear to god that bench charlie was sitting on in the graveyard was the same that amelia and hunt sat on when he asked her to marry him. did hunt propose in a cemetery?

[moon-yean]

harlots; 2x06

This episode was everything. I’m still at a bit of a loss for words but I thought I might try to sort through some of my thoughts, in no particular order:

When Amelia was stabbed, I was almost convinced that she would actually die because she is honestly too pure for this world. She literally took a bullet knife for Rasselas, when will your faves 😭 (Now that she lived to the end of the episode, I’m fairly certain that she’s going to live and testify against Lord Fallon. And this near death experience will prompt Violet to reconsider what she said earlier. I pray that there will be a good solution to all of this.)

Run, Rasselas, run! When Lydia sicced Lord Fallon on him, I almost bit my fist because the tension was unreal.

I’m 50:50 on whether Margaret is going to hang. On the one hand, she did murder Sir George and confessed to it, so there seems to be little in the way of saving her. On the other hand, there are still two episodes left. So I see three scenarios, 1) she hangs, 2) she doesn’t hang but dies another way, 3) she doesn’t die. Samantha Morton has been cast on TWD which suggests that, unlike her fellow cast members, she knows that she won’t be in season 3, no matter whether the show will be renewed or not. That would suggest that Margaret dies. But wait, I have another crazy theory: What if Justice Hunt helps her escape. I’m thinking of a scenario here where she’s lead into a cellar or some other dark and secluded place to be executed (she did specifically ask him not to make a spectacle out of it). And so we think that he’s honoring her request and giving her a swift ending. But instead of the killing blow/noose awaiting her, Justice Hunt is like “quick, let’s get you out of here” and spirits her away under the guise of night and she leaves the city and sails away with William and Jacob to live her best life somewhere else. Charlotte becomes the new bawd of Greek Street, Justice Hunt has his big character moment where he breaks the law but upholds it in another place (by, let’s say, convicting Lydia Quigley... I doubt Lord Fallon will survive the season, even if he’s arrested), the last girl Lydia abducted will play a vital role in her downfall, Hunt will release Amelia from her promise to marry him and she’ll be happy with Violet, hopefully not in penury, and Lucy will be without a keeper again and, idk, become a lady of society under the guidance of Lady Isabella. Okay, that last one’s unrealistic. Probably all of it is unrealistic. But that’s just a bit theorizing about a best case scenario. Ideally, I would want Charlotte to get out of the profession as well but there has to be an element of circulus vitiosus to it, I suppose.

There will be so much egg of my face if they just hang Margaret. And if Lord Fallon survives. And if Amelia marries Justice Hunt.

Do we think that any of the Spartans will survive the season? Harcourt is a goner for sure. You can’t introduce an utterly odious character like that and let him get away with his villainy (and he’s not the type of character who you can just incarcerate). I feel like Lord Fallon is also a goner and that Lucy will deliver the killing blow, as I have also theorized in my thoughts after 2x04, but I don’t find that storyline wholly predictable. Lord Lidington... well, he might just end up in jail.

Maybe they will end the season with a hint at the remaining members of the Spartans. I hope they don’t. Cutting the head off the snake might not kill it but cutting off their means of supply (Lydia) should, hopefully.

Emily and Charles will inherit Golden Square once Lydia is dead or in prison. Harriet will become the bawd of the House of the Exotic. And if Charlotte does become the bawd of Greek Street, it’d be like the next gen of bawds. I hope that doesn’t mean that they think they won’t be renewed. Since the story of the first two seasons was a continuous story, they’d have to come up with something new. I hope they do because it’d be a damn shame if they end it there.

Charlotte and Margaret. I don’t even know what to say. So many feelings, it’s overwhelming. I almost cry again just thinking about that scene. It was just... so much relief and sadness and pain and love rolled all into one.

Charlotte and Lydia. That was so powerful. Lydia has got to be one of the greatest villains ever. You can’t help but pity her because you just know that the world (the cruelty of MEN) made her who she is. Once more the hint that it was her father who first abused her. But we also know of the kind of evil she inflicts on others. It’s so warped and I was with Charlotte when she was screaming at her how she hated her and it was so visceral and did you see that vein on Charlotte’s forehead as she was ready to burst?! Jessica Brown Findlay deserves all the awards! In fact, she, Lesley Manville and Samantha Morton all deserve all the awards. (There is not one weak link in the whole cast but these three just get to play the meatiest parts and they knock it out of the damn park every week. This week was beyond though. Just beyond.)

I’m not here for any hate on Lucy. I think the writing for her this week was amazing, so layered even though she did not have many scenes. Just her scene back in Greek Street said so much in so little words, I could write a whole essay about her character. Before this episode, I had the theory that maybe she was playing Lord Fallon all along but this is so much better and makes so much more sense and it’s so much more realistic. She is young and in desperate need of validation.

Lord Fallon was hilariously inept at being a predatory murderer but to be fair, he was put under a lot of stress so it’s no wonder he underperformed. That plus the whole daylight thing and having to actually chase his victim made it a lot more difficult for the poor guy. How creepy was his scene with the servants btw? It was short but it showed exactly the type of guy that he is: controlling, abusive and quick to anger. I think that he does have a lot of, let’s say, appreciation for Lucy but there are just some people you don’t want to be liked by. It’s just poor Lucy’s luck that the only person who ever happened to show a great interest in her happens to be him.

I liked what the episode did to develop minor characters like Anne Pettifer. We don’t know a lot about her but we can certainly infer some things. Clearly, she is intelligent because she figured out that the best way to survive in Quigley’s house is to ingratiate yourself with her. Too bad that this makes her an accomplice to such a foul person. But imagine that she was an innocent girl once and it all becomes too clear.

That’s what the show does so well at its best and it was at its best this week: It shows this great variety of women and how none of them are purely good or purely evil but all victims of their circumstances. And the most perverse effect of them all: To make them complicit in the victimization of others in the hope that this might elevate their own status out of victimhood. This is even true for Margaret. She only ever wanted the best for her girls but she also profited off of them. It’s all very mixed up and conflicted and heartbreaking.

There are, however, degrees to this and Charlotte recognizes that. She recognizes that there are different ways to be in their world and that there are certain things you don’t have to do (and, more importantly, when she tells Lydia that “that’s not the way to be a bawd”, it comes with the realization that her mother was never like that and it clears the way for their reunion and her forgiveness).

I think the show did well to have that one scene earlier in the season where Violet explains to Justice Hunt just how exactly running a bawdy house works. And what benefits this has for the women as opposed to working on the street. (Except for the freedom that they have to give up, although they have only a small measure to begin with. This is even more true for Violet. I cannot imagine that the season will end with her still in servitude, that would be awful. Amelia teaching her how to read must have been good for something. Maybe Justice Hunt can employ them as the world’s first social workers.)

Charlotte and Isabella. I won’t waste words on Harcourt although it was as we all had expected. The scene between Charlotte and Isabella was lovely, however. I don’t see the problems with it that others are seeing. But I’m too tired to go into details now. I hope we see some more affection between them in the next episode, although I think that’s all that it is, an understanding and a kinship and an intimacy, not a love story per se. Doesn’t make it any less touching and I’m sure Lady Isabella will play a crucial role in bringing down her brother and Lydia for good.

So, yeah. Lots of thoughts. I can’t wait for next week.

[kwebtv]

Harlots  -  Hulu / ITV Encore  -  3/27/2017  -  Present

Period Drama (8 episodes to date)

Running Time:  60 minutes

Stars:

Samantha Morton as Margaret Wells

Lesley Manville as Lydia Quigley

Jessica Brown Findlay as Charlotte Wells

Eloise Smyth as Lucy Wells

Kate Fleetwood as Nancy Birch

Danny Sapani as William North

Jordan A. Nash as Jacob Wells North

Douggie McMeekin as Charles Quigley

Hugh Skinner as Sir George Howard

Steven Robertson as Robert Oswald

Eleanor Yates as Lady Caroline Howard

Edward Hogg as Thomas Haxby

Rory Fleck Byrne as Daniel Marney

Con O'Neil as Nathaniel Lennox.

Pippa Bennett-Warner as Harriet Lennox

Timothy Innes as Benjamin Lennox

Lottie Tolhurst as Kitty Carter

Bronwyn James as Fanny Lambert

Josef Altin as Prince Rasselas

Holli Dempsey as Emily Lacey

Alexa Davies as Betsey Fletcher

Poppy Corby-Tuech as Marie-Louise D’Aubigne

Ellie Heydon as Anne Pettifer

Rosalind Eleazar as Violet Cross

Dorothy Atkinson as Florence Scanwell

Jordon Stevens as Amelia Scanwell

Roy Beck as Mr Abbadon

[savetopnow]

2018-03-29 19 MOVIE now

MOVIE

Birth. Movies. Death.

SXSW 2018 Review: TAKE YOUR PILLS Shines A Light On An Alarming Problem

Is Denis Villeneuve Still Making a DUNE Movie? Nope! Now He’s Making TWO Of Them

FIRST MATCH Trailer Takes A Girl’s Troubles To The Mat

Wes Anderson And Bill Murray: A Cinematic Rapport

Book Review: S. Craig Zahler’s HUG CHICKENPENNY Is A Touching Gothic Parable

CineVue

Film Review: The Island and the Whales

Film Review: Midnight Sun

Film Review: Journeyman

Criterion Review: Yi Yi

Film Review: A Wrinkle in Time

Cinema Blend

Mark Hamill Has Some Concerns About There Being Too Many Future Star Wars Movies

April's Free PlayStation Plus Titles Include Mad Max

DOOM Is Getting A 4K Upgrade On Consoles

PlayStation VR Is Getting Another Price Cut

LEGO The Incredibles Gets A Day-And-Date Release With Incredibles 2

Cinema Scope

Cinema Scope 74 Contents

The Work (Jairus McLeary & Gethin Aldous, US)

Global Discoveries on DVD: A Few Peripheral Matters

Canadiana | Hometown Horror: Robin Aubert’s Les affamés

Exploded View: Bruce Conner’s Crossroads

Comicboook.com

Death Of Superman First Look Released

Can Fans Save the Deadpool Cartoon Like They Did the Movie?

New 'Captain Marvel' Set Photos Released Online

Black Widow Fights the Black Order in New 'Avengers: Infinity War' TV Spot

Scarlett Johansson Cast in Taika Waititi Movie 'Jojo Rabbit'

Film Comment Magazine

Queer & Now & Then: 2018

The Film Comment Podcast: Easter Hams

Festivals: True/False 2018

Berlin Interview: Lav Diaz

Readings: Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa

Film Inquiry

Time Crisis: TWELVE MONKEYS

CUSTODY: A Social Realist Take On The Home Invasion Thriller

WILDE SALOMÉ & SALOMÉ: Pacino’s Passion Project Finally Sees The Light Of Day

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? Trailer

Fantasy Science Pt. 2: The Turing Test & EX MACHINA

Film School Rejects

Beautiful Concept Art for ‘The Last Jedi’ Reveals Luscious Worlds

‘Beetljuice’ to Reclaim Center Stage in Musical Revival

The 10 Best Horror Movies of 2018 So Far

Justine Bateman To Make Feature Directorial Debut With ‘Violet’

The Sweet, Refreshing Optimism of ‘Barry’

Reddit Movies

Official Discussion: Ready Player One [SPOILERS]

Robocop (1987) is a perfectly paced and structured movie.

Scarlett Johansson to Star in Taika Waititi’s ‘Jojo Rabbit’

Daniel Day Lewis and Lesley Manville hilarious food fight in Phantom Thread deleted scene

‘Narcos’ Star Pedro Pascal Lands Pivotal Role in ‘Wonder Woman’ Sequel

Roger Ebert

Women Writers Week 2018: Table of Contents

Phantom Thread, Jane Eyre, and the Power Dynamics of Hetero Romance

Disability Theater Access in 2018

Against the Odds: Netflix Brings “Lost in Space” to WonderCon

Ready Player One

Screen Rant

What John Cena Could Look Like As Duke Nukem

Could Rick And Morty Change Networks?

Gambit Gets New Filming Start – Director Announcement Coming Soon?

Riverdale Musical Episode ‘A Night to Remember’ Gets a Trailer

Black Widow Takes on the Black Order in Avengers: Infinity War Spot

Slash Film

/Filmcast Ep. 460 – Pacific Rim Uprising

Superhero Bits: ‘Captain Marvel’ Alternate Timeline Theory, ‘Deadpool 2’ Box Office Tracking & More

‘Game of Thrones’ Actor Pedro Pascal Joins ‘Wonder Woman 2’ Cast

Daily Podcast: Avengers: Infinity War, Donald Glover’s Deadpool, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Amazon’s Billion Dollar Show, and More

Horror-Centric Overlook Film Festival Line-Up Announced

[estoyalmando]

El placer tiene un precio, al menos en el Londres del Siglo XVIII. COSMO estrenará el próximo martes 18 de septiembre a las 22:00 horas en exclusiva en España la segunda temporada de Harlots: Cortesanas, una coproducción entre la plataforma de streaming estadounidense Hulu y el canal británico ITV. La serie ha sido unánimemente alabada por la crítica, que la ha definido como “una visión moderna del sexo en el siglo XVIII”.

Poder, placer y sufrimiento. La segunda temporada de este drama consta de ocho capítulos y nos muestra con gran realismo la vida de las mujeres que se dedican al lucrativo negocio del sexo. Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton) y Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville) son las dueñas de dos burdeles que compiten por captar a una numerosa y variada clientela, de la que era una de las actividades comerciales más prolíficas de la época.

La acción se sitúa justo después de finalizar los impactantes hechos de la primera temporada. La rivalidad entre burdeles seguirá siendo el eje principal de los nuevos capítulos, aunque ahora habrá un nuevo enemigo a combatir, un personaje que tendrá un papel determinante en las tramas. Se trata de Josiah Hunt, conocido como “el justiciero”, papel interpretado por el actor Sebastian Armesto. De moral intachable, es un juez que está convencido de que tiene como misión “limpiar” las calles de Covent Garden. Para él, las harlots son sinónimo de vicio y prostitución y serán perseguidas y castigadas con todo el peso de la ley.

El juez, inmune a los sobornos, aplicará la normativa de forma rigurosa, hasta el punto de que llegará a detener y encarcelar a Lydia Quigley. Su burdel nunca ha sido un lugar en el que las chicas fueran felices ya que las mantiene encerradas. ¿Qué consecuencias provocará su arresto? Por otro lado, sus clientes son muy poderosos y forman parte de la élite de la época. ¿Se verá su posición comprometida?

Su detención supondrá una gran oportunidad para las rivales de Lydia, que aprovecharán la situación. Charlotte, que está trabajando en el burdel de Lydia y aparentemente mantiene una muy buena relación con la madame, no deja de ser la hija de Margaret, por lo que sus lealtades son, una vez más, puestas a prueba. Pero la solidaridad gremial se impone y entre todas buscarán el dinero necesario para sacar a Lydia de la cárcel. ¿Lo conseguirán?.

Por otra parte, Violet (Rosalind Eleazar) ha sido detenida acusada de robo y deberá cumplir una terrible sentencia. Las chicas lucharán para salvarla.

Liv Tyler, nueva incorporación

La popular actriz y modelo estadounidense Liv Tyler, conocida por su papel en la adaptación cinematográfica de la saga de El señor de los anillos, se incorpora a la serie en esta segunda temporada. Tyler, a la que también hemos visto en otras producciones como The Leftovers, interpreta a Lady Isabella Fitzwilliam, una distinguida mujer de alta sociedad cuyos secretos la convierten en víctima de la peligrosa y despiadada Lydia Quigley (Manville).

Es hija ilegítima, por lo que su vida depende de los caprichos de su calculador, y a la vez seductor hermano, el Marqués de Blayne, quien le restringe el acceso al dinero que le permitiría ser independiente y poderosa, algo que ambiciona por encima de todo.

Desesperada, víctima del chantaje de Lydia y atrapada en un matrimonio sin amor, Lady Fitzwilliam encontrará una inesperada amiga y aliada en la cortesana Charlotte Wells (Brown Findlay), hija mayor de Margaret (Morton).

HARLOTS — Set against the backdrop of 18th century Georgian London, Harlots is a powerful family drama offering a brand-new take on the city’s most valuable commercial activity – sex. Based on the stories of real women, the series follows Margaret Wells and her daughters as she struggles to reconcile her roles as mother and brothel owner. When her business comes under attack from Lydia Quigley, a rival madam with a ruthless streak, Margaret will fight back, even if it means putting her family at risk. Charlotte Wells (Jessica Brown-Findlay), shown. (Photo by: Sven Arnstein/Hulu)

HARLOTS — Set against the backdrop of 18th century Georgian London, Harlots is a powerful family drama offering a brand-new take on the city’s most valuable commercial activity – sex. Based on the stories of real women, the series follows Margaret Wells and her daughters as she struggles to reconcile her roles as mother and brothel owner. When her business comes under attack from Lydia Quigley, a rival madam with a ruthless streak, Margaret will fight back, even if it means putting her family at risk. Lady Isabella Fitzwilliam (Liv Tyler), shown. (Photo by: Sven Arnstein/Hulu)

HARLOTS — Set against the backdrop of 18th century Georgian London, Harlots is a powerful family drama offering a brand-new take on the city’s most valuable commercial activity – sex. Based on the stories of real women, the series follows Margaret Wells and her daughters as she struggles to reconcile her roles as mother and brothel owner. When her business comes under attack from Lydia Quigley, a rival madam with a ruthless streak, Margaret will fight back, even if it means putting her family at risk. Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville), shown. (Photo by: Sven Arnstein/Hulu)

Tyler se muestra muy satisfecha por su participación en la serie y por el personaje que interpreta. “Me mudé a Inglaterra y quería seguir trabajando. Ya había hecho otra serie en el Reino Unido llamada Gunpowder y ha dado la casualidad de que los dos son dramas de época. Además, conozco a Samantha Morton – actriz que interpreta a Margaret Wells – desde hace tiempo y soy una gran admiradora de su trabajo, así que cuando me propusieron participar no me lo pensé dos veces”, comenta.

El guión de la serie está inspirado en las historias de mujeres reales recogidas en un escrito que se publicó en el Londres de aquella época: “Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies”. Se trata de una completa lista de nombres, características y cualidades de las prostitutas de la época que ha servido como base para la creación de Harlots: Cortesanas.

La serie está producida, dirigida y también protagonizada por mujeres, lo cual ha sido alabado por la crítica. Como comenta Liv Tyler, “estoy muy satisfecha de interpretar un papel escrito por una mujer, seguro que va a condicionar a mi personaje de una forma muy diferente a si el guionista hubiera sido un hombre. Eso marca la diferencia. En muchos de mis papeles anteriores, como en El señor de los anillos o Armageddon, era una de las pocas mujeres en un reparto coral liderado y con mayoría de hombres”.

Para Samantha Morton “la serie nos muestra el mundo del sexo desde la perspectiva de la prostituta y la madame. Es una transacción de negocios, no hay emociones. En aquella época la prostitución era muy importante en el conjunto de la economía y las mujeres – incluso Lady Fitzwilliam, nuevo personaje que proviene de la alta sociedad – no tenían propiedades ni dinero, ni eran dueñas de su propio destino. Todo estaba en manos del marido. Por eso Margaret se siente con más poder y derechos que otras mujeres.”

“Aunque ambientada en el Siglo XVIII, Harlots: Cortesanas sigue tratando temas que están de actualidad hoy en día: la ambición, la corrupción o el hecho de que el nuestro siga siendo un mundo de hombres. Es una historia que trata temas universales a pesar de la excelente ambientación de época”, concluye Morton.

La segunda temporada de ‘Harlots: Cortesanas’ llega el próximo martes a COSMO El placer tiene un precio, al menos en el Londres del Siglo XVIII. COSMO estrenará el próximo martes 18 de septiembre a las 22:00 horas en exclusiva en España la segunda temporada de Harlots: Cortesanas…

[cptrs]

[stalletto]

Phantom Thread

A Fantastic Tug-of-War between Artist & Muse

 By: Contributing Fashion Editor-Zack Huffman 

 Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Post-War Fashion, and an intriguing tale of obsession between artist and muse – what’s not to like? For anyone worried that Phantom Thread may be one of those films that cannot match the hype – don’t. Director Paul Thomas Anderson expertly constructed Phantom Thread in the same manner his main character, Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis), constructs visually arresting dresses. For any fashion lover, the film’s, parade of beautiful garments created by costume designer, Mark Bridges, are a sight to behold – only adding to the artisanal quality of the Anderson’s filmmaking. Beyond the exquisite garments, Phantom Thread is a labyrinth of emotional depth, with beautiful adornments expertly weaved throughout the film’s tale of a dark and obsessive love.   

  From the opening scene, it’s clear that Reynolds Woodcock is a man outwardly defined by his ability to breathe beauty into existence, but internally he’s fraught with a fragile insecurity that manifests in emotional distance and frostiness towards others caught up in his world. This is particularly true for Reynolds’ dutiful sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville), whom remains an ever-present source of stability and vigilant upholder of Reynolds’ strangely regimented creative processes. She begins her part in Anderson’s tale with the removal of Reynolds’ previous model and muse who has been the subject of disapproval and growing disinterest in the House of Woodcock. With this act, Cyril solidifies a void Reynolds’ life and creative world – a void which the darkly empathetic and headstrong, Alma (Luxembourgian actor Vicky Krieps) will fill.   

Reynolds first meets Alma while having breakfast at a restaurant near his country estate, a home where he frequently retires throughout the film during times of creative exhaustion. Alma begins the breakfast as Reynolds’ server, but ends it as the designer’s date for later that evening. Clearly enraptured with Alma – Reynolds displays a rare, boyish playfulness during their encounter. However, it doesn’t take long for Reynolds to fall back into character. He concludes their first date with a trip to the small workshop in his country home where he asks Alma to model for him. The potentially romantic scene is shattered by the sudden appearance of an icy Cyril and tone-deaf comments from Reynolds towards Alma such as, “You have no breasts…it’s my job to give them to you if I choose.”   

Rather than take offense or storm out, Alma’s intrigue and fascination builds. Within a few short frames, Alma is living in Mr. Woodcock’s atelier as a house model. While dutiful, Alma proves to be no shrinking violet. Her presence sweeps Reynolds to new creative heights, but she also has no problem cutting him down to size with her own biting one-liners. Her love for Reynolds becomes all the more obvious as she spends more time by his side, but as her love grows, their relationship becomes strained. She not only challenges his controlling tactics and creative idiosyncrasies, but she demands vulnerability and openness – desiring his proclamation of reciprocal love. When he refuses to grant it in the way she expects, her love for Reynolds takes a more disturbing turn – a turn best discovered by watching the couple’s tug-of-war play out on-screen. 

Suffice to say, the film is well worth seeing. Even for those typically wary of dramatic period pieces, this one will leave you feeling that you watched something more akin to a post-war dark comedy. In addition to the film’s depth and exploration of chaotic personality, it’s beautifully shot and executed. Not only did Paul Thomas Anderson serve as Phantom Thread’s director, he played a key role in the film’s cinematography as well. He was the driving force behind the team’s choice of traditional film, lighting, and perspective techniques. The result is a handsomely grainy and smoky picture, constantly reminding the viewer that the veneer of Reynolds’ world is not all that it seems. 

If that isn’t enough to entice viewers, it should also be noted that this film is likely to be Daniel Day-Lewis’ last. In late 2017, his agent announced that the acting giant would be retiring after Phantom Thread. In an interview with W magazine, Daniel Day-Lewis said, “Before making the film, I didn’t know I was going to stop acting… Paul and I laughed a lot before we made the movie. And then we stopped laughing because we were both overwhelmed by a sense of sadness. That took us by surprise: We didn’t realize what we had given birth to. It was hard to live with. And still is.” 

Like Alma’s intrigue in Reynolds, Daniel Day-Lewis’ “sadness” makes the film even more luring. What could make acting giant, Daniel Day-Lewis, feel the need to simply stop? We may never know the precise reason, but one thing is certain – the mind of an artist is rarely an easy co-inhabitant. Their inner world often creates a melancholic beauty, transcending the everyday and explainable, and Anderson’s Phantom Thread is no exception. 

***Photo credits-Courtesy of Focus Features. 

 DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson

RUNTIME: 130 minutes

RATING: R

LANGUAGE: English

CAST: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville, and Brian Gleeson

[cptrs]