#suzanne bertish

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[warningsine]

[heyho-simonrussellbeale]

Your fame is spreading!

Simon Russell Beale as Robbie Ross in Benediction

[themarvellousmichaelbryant]

Review in Plays & Players by Andrew Rissik of 'King Lear' by William Shakespeare at the National Theatre in 1987. Photos by Nobby Clark. The cast included Anthony Hopkins as Lear, Michael Bryant as Gloucester, Bill Nighy as Edgar, Douglas Hodge as Edmund, Anna Massey as Goneril and Suzanne Bertish as Regan. It was directed by David Hare.

[jmunneytumbler]

'The Nun II': You Ain't Gettin' Nun

'The Nun II': You Ain't Gettin' Nun

Where’s Nunno? (CREDIT: Warner Bros. Pictures/Screenshot) Starring: Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid, Anna Popplewell, Bonnie Aarons, Katelyn Rose Downey, Suzanne Bertish Director: Michael Chaves Running Time: 110 Minutes Rating: R Release Date: September 8, 2023 (Theaters) I think The Nun should team up with Pistachio Disguisey from The Master of Disguise. Sure she’s got some other…

[oceanusborealis]

The Nun II - Movie Review

TL;DR – We get a film that terrifies in its opening and reigns with a bombast at the end. You just have to get between these two points. ⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 5. Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film. The Nun II Review – In 2023, I set myself a goal of dipping my toe more into the Horror genre, and while I am not sure how…

[detournementsmineurs]

“Les Carnets de Siegfried (Benediction)” biopic de Terence Davies (2021) - sur la vie du poète Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) - avec Jack Lowden, Tom Blyth, Calam Lynch, Jeremy Irvine, Matthew Tennyson, Kate Phillips, Simon Russell Beale, Suzanne Bertish, Lia Williams, Ben Daniels, Peter Capaldi, Anton Lesser et Gemma Jones, mars 2024.

[fictionturnedherbrain]

The Scarlet Pimpernel (BBC, 1999)

Episode 3, A King’s Ransom, or The Kidnapped King

I decided to dig out the DVDs and rewatch the less than popular 1990s BBC adaptation of The Scarlet Pimpernel books at a remove of some years and hopefully with a more objective review! However, I still haven’t recovered from the first episode and probably never will, so I decided to skip to the third instalment, which is a take on Eldorado.

Once again, Percy plans to rescue the Dauphin, who is randomly in an orphanage instead of the Temple, but the snag this time is that someone has beaten the League to the prize and run off with the young King Louis XVII, demanding a ransom from Robespierre, who for some reason wants the boy alive. The Incorruptible enlists Chauvelin’s help to recover the national hostage, while Percy and Marguerite stage a very public separation and she returns to Paris incognito to help the League achieve the same goal.

The good:

I must admit that I love the theme tune by Michal Pavlicek, and even bought the soundtrack on CD. The little ditty that the Dauphin is taught to sing at the orphanage – First we kill the King, then we kill the Queen, Send them both to the guillotine – is also annoyingly catchy.

There some neat ‘kisses with history’ in this episode, including Suzanne Bertish playing the Chevalier D’Orly, based on the real life transgender spy and swordsman, Chevalier D’Eon, and a national auction of émigré property and possessions to raise money for the Republic and the French Army.

I also like that Marguerite is shown to be an active part of the League – yes, she helps out in a couple of the original stories, and she is identified as a League member, but mainly her role is to wait and worry. The crazy plan to stage a public separation makes absolutely no sense, and neither does Chauvelin’s lovesick trust that she really has left her husband, but watching a brief glimpse of Marguerite St Just, toast of the Comedie Francaise (or Theatre des Artes, just to be awkward) is fun.

And I will take any nod to the original stories I can get, so bonus points for the League disguised as soldiers rescuing the Dauphin’s physician just before the real thing arrive to arrest him!

The not so good:

Along with stripping Percy of his disguises – Percy wears a tricolour sash and rosette over his own clothes and calls it a day – and drawing out the lazy love triangle from the 1982 film/Broadway musical, the motto of this series really is, ‘Screw that, we’re doing things our way!’ Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and their two surviving children were lodged in the Temple from August 1792. The Dauphin was removed from his mother and placed with the Simons in July 1793, where he eventually died in 1795. So why the hell is the Dauphin now in the ‘Egalite Orphanage’? And also, why does Percy take the flaming uncrowned king of France back to England with him? Do the Blakeneys adopt him, or something? Let Austria have him, as planned. Far easier.

Speaking of the love triangle. Even assuming that Sir Percy would stage a screaming match with his wife in front of all their friends and a very convenient French spy – ‘Be silent, you damn French hoyden!’ is not how I ever imagined Sir Percy addressing his beloved Marguerite – I would expect Chauvelin to be more than a trifle suspicious. He even challenges Robespierre, while simultaneously blowing his only protection – ‘Why do you trust her when you know that she is the wife of the Scarlet Pimpernel? Blakeney – is – the – Pimpernel!’ – but doesn’t stop to wonder if Marguerite might just be in cahoots with said Pimpernel. It’s a weird subplot that both intrigues and irritates me.

And speaking of the Pimpernel. Richard E Grant’s portrayal is the laziest take on the character to date. Never mind the lack of disguises, he spends most of his time in Paris being measured for new clothes by Planchet the tailor, sitting around in frilly shirts while members of the League – mainly Sir Andrew, Planchet and another guy called Mazarini in this series – report back to him. Where is Sir Percy the micromanager of Orczy’s books? Nor will we talk about his advice to Marguerite, back in Paris and working with both Chauvelin and Robespierre, when she asks him how far she should go: ‘Only as far as the bedroom door. A woman on her back is a distinct disadvantage.’ MON DIEU, Percy would never!

And dear lord in heaven, he’s just Sir Percy, not Percival! If Marguerite doesn’t know that, perhaps they should call it quits.

The ugly:

Elizabeth McGovern, bless her, was not the best choice for Marguerite. Not only does she look older that her character in Downton Abbey ten years later, but her English accent really grates on the ears – ‘Passy!’ – and I had to laugh when Suzanne Bertish’s character told her, ‘Diction, Marguerite, diction! Lips, teeth, tongue!’ Why on earth didn’t they let the American actress speak naturally and pretend that she sounded different because Marguerite has a French accent – or you know, cast a French actress? She also has zero chemistry with Richard E Grant. Not a trace. The reunion kiss between Percy and Marguerite outside the theatre in Paris is the most awkward mashing of lips I have ever seen on screen. (I did enjoy Chauvelin’s double take at her guilty look afterwards, however!)

The dialogue. A sample:

Chevalier D’Orly: I’m proposing to kill you!

Percy: That’ll be interesting, I’ve never been killed before.

Also, all of the icky ‘flirting’ between Chauvelin and Marguerite: Perhaps we were never friends. But we were lovers. I have the memories to prove it. And then he’s actually gutted when he finally figures out that ‘the separation was a sham’.

I nearly forgot about the main fault of this episode: It’s one and a half hour long and about twenty minutes of that runtime is a tedious swordfight. That was the longest recap ever!

Honestly, compared to the first episode, this wasn’t too horrific – as a random historical drama. For fans of the books and the film adaptations, the treatment of Sir Percy and Marguerite – and even Chauvelin, who looks more like Gerard Depardieu playing Danton – still hurts. Sir Percy pimping his wife out to her ex (‘so the last piece is in place’ – ‘and such a pretty piece!’), relying on ‘the faithful Andrew’ to do all the work for him, and questioning a witness in public BEFORE agreeing to get her out of Paris and then being surprised when she is murdered. Marguerite somehow being accepted by the French public after running away to marry an English baronet – ‘Go back to England, you traitor!’ – when some random in the audience bursts into a round of La Marseillaise (and nobody knows any of the words). She stole that trick from Yvonne in Casablanca. Marguerite’s appalling lack of subtlety while spying on someone and then ransacking their dressing room when they leave – check for the maid first, Margot! Chauvelin getting in a snit with Robespierre and then casually announcing that BLAKENEY IS THE PIMPERNEL.

Other than that, though: 3/5

And I might cap the episode if I can figure out how!

[small-cs-traffic-warden]

Arlene Rimmer (Fan-AI-Art)

"Fanart" created by the Midjourney AI.

For some reason, I've always had a hard time accepting Arlene in "Parallel Universe" as the real female mirror version of Rimmer. Something didn't fit - I mean, in appearance. Perhaps mostly because of her age - Suzanne Bertish (unbearable wonderful acting) - is a nine years older than Chris Barrie (now that I look into it, Angela Bruce, aka Deb, was born in the same year - so she's older than Craig too, but for some reason it doesn't stick out as much).

So, I set this our contemporary Holly called Midjourney a task. And here's the result - a variation of Arlene Rimmer, combining photos of the original actress Suzanne, Chris and also Francesca Folan, the actress who portrayed Rimmer's hologram Camilla - I always thought they picked a very close type to Arnie there.

[4749-82]

[warningsine]

[cristalconnors]

ENSEMBLE

Shortlisted: After Yang, Bones and All, No Bears, Women Talking

THE NOMINEES ARE:

BENEDICTION

Starring: Jack Lowden, Peter Capaldi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeremy Irvine, Kate Phillips, Gemma Jones, Ben Daniels, Calam Lynch, Anton Lesser, Tom Blyth, Matthew Tennyson, Geraldine James, Richard Goulding, Lia Williams, Suzanne Bertish, Julian Sands, Jude Akuwudike, Giovanna Ria

A CHIARA

Starring: Swamy Rotolo, Claudio Rotolo, Grecia Rotolo, Carmela Fumo, Giorgia Rotolo, Antonio Rotolo, Vincenzo Rotolo, Antonina Fumo, Giusi D'Uscio, Patrizia Amato, Concetta Grillo, Koudous Seihon, Pio Amato, Iolanda Amato

HAPPENING

Starring: Anamaria Vartolomei, Kacey Mottet Klein, Sandrine Bonnaire, Louise Orry-Diquero, Louise Chevillotte, Pio Marmaï, Anna Mouglalis, Fabrizio Rongione, Luàna Bajrami, Leonor Oberson, Julien Frison, Alice de Lencquesaing

NOPE

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Jacob Kim, Michael Wincott, Brandon Perea, Wrenn Schmidt, Barbie Ferreira, Terry Notary, Devon Graye, Donna Mills, Osgood Perkins, Eddie Jemison, Keith David, Sophia Coto, Haley Babula, Jennifer Lafleur, Andrew Patrick Ralston

AND THE CRISTAL GOES TO...

THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan, Gary Lydon, Pat Shortt, Sheila Flitton, Bríd Ní Neachtain, Jon Kenny, Aaron Monaghan, David Pearse, Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola, John Carty

[jomiddlemarch]

Mercy Street folks, Suzanne Bertish, who played Matron Brannan, appears in Atlantic Crossing!

[thedukeleto]

“You’re disgusting. You’re only after me for one thing!”

[holo-fish]

I was tagged by @oh-smeg​ to name my top ten favourite female characters. I twisted the prompt...slightly.

Top Ten Favourite Female Characters in Red Dwarf:

Kristine Kochanski, Holly, Arlene Rimmer, Deb Lister, Camile, Nirvana Crane, Mrs. Rimmer, Katerina Bartikovsky, Harmony de Gauthier, and Mellie

Aka: The badass ladies behind the boys from the Dwarf

(Although, just plain...bad, in the case of Mrs. Rimmer)

[detournementsmineurs]

Simon Russell Beale, Suzanne Bertish et Lia Williams dans "Les Carnets de Siegfried (Benediction)" biopic de Terence Davies (2021) - sur la vie du poète Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) - mars 2024.