And here it is!
First thoughts:
–They’re bringing Sydney in earlier and giving him much more to do in the first part. (Is Stryver even in this adaptation? I don’t see an actor listed as playing him anywhere yet.) Although I like the way Dickens fakes us out by making him look like a minor character at first, I can see how a modern miniseries would want to make him prominent early on. He’s the most interesting character (with the possible exception of Madame Defarge). Also, Kit Harington is the biggest name that I know of in the cast, at least here in the U.S.
–They’re making Lucie more of a modern woman (e.g., going out and hiring a lawyer, drinking in a tavern). Again, not unexpected.
–So far the acting looks good across the board. I’ve never seen Harington in anything before, but this first glimpse of his Sydney looks very promising indeed.
–The settings and costumes look pretty good. They’re playing up the resemblance between Sydney and Charles as few previous adaptations have done — also good. Lucie as a redhead instead of a blonde is a bit disconcerting, and although I don’t have a trained eye for these things, I have a feeling her hairstyle is all wrong. I’m afraid that’s par for the course for period drama, though.
–They’re making the love triangle more of a triangle. Will we get Sydney deliberately taking himself out of the running, as in the book? I hope so — I’m fond of that part. At the very least, we’re getting the “last dream of my soul” line!
–They’re also spicing things up a bit. Not what I hoped for.
–They give us very little of the French part of the story here. I’m getting almost no sense of the Defarges or the Marquis.
But we don’t have long to wait for the whole thing — the key art (featured in this post) gives a premiere date of September 6!
(Image courtesy of MGM+. H/T Amazon MGM Studios.)
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