#Tara Fitzgerald

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Tara Fitzgerald

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Helen, Gilbert and Arthur in "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" 1968 version (left) and 1996 version (right).

Both of these versions were produced and aired on BBC. These are the only TV adaptations of said title.

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𝄢 Brassed Off (1996)

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9. Ewan McGregor Movie Review: Brassed Off (1996)

We made it to our last movie of 1996 and boy, is it a good one!

Some fun facts before we begin!

Pete Gunn has a minor role in the movie as the character Simmo. You might remember that he worked alongside Ewan in the movie "Blue Juice"!

While the movie takes place in the village Grimley, the story is actually inspired by the mining village Grimethorpe whose pit was closed just three years before the movie released.

The Grimethorpe Colliery Band performed all the band numbers in the movie.

Ewan's character plays a tenor horn in the band. I think it's a fun fact because when Ewan was a teenager, he played the French horn!

Genre: Comedy/Romance

Rating: R

Director: Mark Herman

Starring: Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Ewan McGregor

Synopsis: "Brassed Off" is about the 1980s pit closures in the United Kingdom. It takes place in Grimley, a coal mining village, that is next on the chopping block to have it's colliery shut down. The village is also home to the Grimley Colliery Band which has existed for 100 years and the characters are all part of. But with the possibility of the pit closing comes the possibility of the end of the band for good. Band leader Danny (Pete Postlethwaite) challenges the men to fight one last time to win the National Brass Band Competition in London. When Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald), a former resident of Grimley, makes a surprise return to the village, she joins the band and sets out to bring hope to the weary miners.

Ewan Review: Ewan plays the character Andy Barrows, a coal miner and member of the local band. Andy is initially excited to be reunited with Gloria as the two had a former romance. However, when he learns why Gloria has been keeping her return a secret, he becomes unsure whether he can trust her or if they were ever meant to be. Ewan wears an earring in this role and speaks with a Yorkshire accent. His character is broody so expect a lot of scowls which is a change of pace from his many smiley characters. He has an implied sex scene and a makeout scene. His acting, along with the rest of the cast, gets an A+ from me!

Screentime Percentage: Ewan is on screen for a grand total of 26/107 minutes making his SP 24%.

To Ewan or not to Ewan: Is the movie worth watching for Ewan alone? No. He already doesn't have much to do in this movie and he's part of an ensemble cast so the story is spread out over several different characters. Honestly, I found myself more interested in other storylines than his. He's good when he's on screen and is nice to look at but this just isn't a Ewan content heavy role. Is the movie worth watching in general? Absolutely! This movie has an amazing story, the actors have great chemistry, the music is phenomenal, and you get to learn in an intimate way about an important time in history. I can tell you that before watching this movie I didn't know anything about the miner strikes or pit closures. Now, I'm reading up on the history!

Warning before watching: There is a suicide attempt scene.

Where to Watch: "Brassed Off" is available for rent on YouTube, Fandango at Home, and Amazon Prime Video. You can also watch it for free on soap2day.

Closing Thoughts: This movie so creatively weaves together a story of anger, depression, and hope. The characters are fleshed out and feel real. You hurt for their plight and root for their fight. The movie has a bittersweet ending. I applaud the director, Mark Herman, for sharing with the world the harm done to the miners of the U.K. and their perseverance through it all.

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James Wilby as the baddie- Sir Percival Glyde in The Woman In White. (1997)

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This Dress with Flowers on is worn on Tara Fitzgerald as Kat Ashley in The Virgin Queen (2005) and later worn on Rebekah Wainwright as Catherine Brandon in The Tudors: Dissension and Punishment (2009)

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Sirens (1994) | dir. John Duigan

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The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain, German lobby card. 1995

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"THE WOMAN IN WHITE" (1997) Review

"THE WOMAN IN WHITE" (1997) Review

I have very little familiarity with Victorian novelist, Wilkie Collins and his work. One, I have never read any of his novels. And two, I had only become aware of his works and adaptations of his work some two to three years ago. One of those adaptations happened to be the 1997 television movie, "THE WOMAN IN WHITE".

Although a longtime viewer of PBS's "MASTERPIECE THEATER", I had never seen this version of Collins' 1859-60 novel when it first aired on U.S. television, years ago. It took streaming television for me to finally stumble across this movie. Recalling how much I had enjoyed it, I did a recent re-watch. Had my feelings for this production changed? Good question.

"THE WOMAN IN WHITE" was a BBC-TV adaptation of what is regarded as an early example of a mystery novel. Half-sisters Marian and Laura Fairlie live with their hypochondriac uncle, Mr. Fairlie, at his estate called Limmeridge. He hires a young artist named Walter Hartright to serve as their art tutor. Upon his arrival in the neighborhood, Walter unexpectedly meets a young woman dressed in white, who acquires about his plans to stay at Limmeridge. When he finally meets the Fairlie sisters, Walter realizes that Laura bears a strong resemblance to the woman he had earlier encountered. Laura and Walter develop an attraction between them, but Marian nips the potential romance in the bud when she reveals Laura's engagement to a family acquaintance, a landowner named Sir Percy Glyde. When Marian receives a warning about Sir Percy, she and Walter deduces it came from the woman the latter had encountered on his first night - a local named Anne Catherick. While heading into the woods to meet with Walter and track down Anne, Marian spots a servant woman running out of the woods, with Walter close behind. She accuses him of attempted rape. Walter is dismissed by Mr. Fairlie and Laura proceeds with her marriage to Sir Percival.

I have always regarded Collins' 1859-60 novel as a personal favorite. If I must be blunt, I have always preferred it over his other famous novel, "The Moonstone". This adaptation of "The Woman in White" is the shortest I have seen, with a running time of 125 minutes. I thought Davie Pirie of adapting the novel for a television movie. He had more or less retained the main narrative of Collins' novel. Although Marian and Laura remained half-sisters, the two characters shared the same parents, instead of the same mother. And I believe he made one improvement by allowing Marian to have a bigger role in the story's third act, which featured the mystery's resolution and the villain's downfall. More importantly, the shorter running time spared me of the final aspects of Count Fosco's arc, which I believe had unnecessarily dragged Collins' novel.

However, I do have a few complaints about Pirie's changes. I thought he had unnecessarily magnified Sir Percy Glyde's villainy by making him a rapist. He had raped Anne Catherick, when she was a girl. Although I have no problems with Pirie expanding Marian's role in defeating Sir Percy in the third act, I had a big issue with making her defeat her brother-in-law by locking him in a burning church. Pirie had transformed Marian into a murderer. And this was not my idea of expanding her role into Sir Percy's defeat. And unless I had missed that moment, I do not recall the movie revealing Count Fosco's reason for helping Sir Percy achieve his goal. Worse, the movie failed to reveal his fate before the movie's last scene.

Although published between 1859 and 1860, Collins' novel was set a decade earlier, between 1849 and 1850. Yet, "THE WOMAN IN WHITE" - at least this version - seemed to be set during the early or mid 1870s. I have no problem with this. This new setting still adhered to theme of a woman's property and marriage, considering it was set before the Married Women's Property Act 1882. Odile Dicks-Mireaux's costumes had received a BAFTA (British Academy Television) Award nomination and did an excellent job in reflecting not only this period setting, but also the characters' social standing:

I do not have any issues with the performances featured in "THE WOMAN IN WHITE". The television movie featured more than competent supporting performances from the likes of Susan Vidler, John Standing, Adie Allen, Kika Markham, Ann Bell and especially Corin Redgrave and Nicholas Woodeson. This adaptation of Collins' novel featured the second time Ian Richardson portrayed the hypocondriac Mr. Fairlie. He had portrayed the same character in the 1982 miniseries. Which performance did I regard superior? I cannot answer that. I would have to watch the older version. But I cannot deny that Richardson gave a very entertaining and fascinating performance as the unreliable Mr. Fairlie. I found Simon Callow equally fascinating as Sir Percival's mysterious companion, Count Fasco. I also have to give credit to the actor for portraying a non-English character without resorting to exaggerated gestures and an accent.

Andrew Lincoln gave an excellent performance as the emotional artist Walter Hartright. It only seemed a pity that his screen appearance and later, his role, had been limited. If I had my choice for the best on-screen Sir Percival Glyde I have seen, I would choose James Wilby's interpretation. His portrayal of the story's main villain struck me as very skillful and surprisingly subtle. I say surprisingly, considering that his Glyde's villainy had been magnified in compared to the literary and other on-screen versions. Justine Waddell gave a quiet, yet competent performance as Laura Fairlie, the catalyst and target in this mystery. Ironically, the heart and soul of Collins' story was Marian Fairlie (Halcombe in the other versions). The showrunners selected the right woman for the job, namely Tara Fitzgerald. She was superb as the forthright and emotional Marian, whose determination to protect her younger sister, led her into situations she never thought she would find herself in. Fitzgerald not only did an excellent job of portraying Marian's emotional connection to her sister, but also her ruthless determination to save the latter.

Overall, "THE WOMAN IN WHITE" proved to be an excellent adaptation of Wilkie Collins' 1859-60 novel. Due to its running time suited for a movie, screenwriter Davie Pirie made changes that either had no damaging impact and improved Collins' story. But a few of the screenwriter's changes did not serve the narrative, as well. However, one of the BAFTA TV Awards nominations for "THE WOMAN IN WHITE" proved to be Best Drama Serial. Thanks to Pirie's transcript, Tim Fywell's excellent direction and a first-rate cast led by Tara Fitzgerald and Justine Waddell, I believe the miniseries deserved that nomination.

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Jane Eyre, 2006

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"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" 1996 version starring Tara Fitzgerald, Toby Stephens and Rupert Graves.

[arkygifs]

𝄢 Brassed Off (1996)

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The Virgin Queen (2005)

dir. coky giedroyc