Costume in Cinema: Edwardian

Costume designer: Pascaline Chavanne

I’ve been meaning to watch this forever, but it’s hard to find and multiple people will tell you it’s pretty darn terrible. I’m here to add my vote — pretty darn terrible! Based on a novel written in the 1950s, it tells the story of Angel, a precious and precocious young woman who becomes a novelist, becomes super successful, falls in love, and goes kind of batty. Sounds okay, right? Except, the plot and script were So Totally Cheesy — it got to the point where I could predict the lines, and they were painful ones like, “Don’t go! *slap hand to forehead*” and “But I need you!”  I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, and for it to turn into a farce, or in some other way acknowledge that it was Off the Deep End with cheese… but it never does. The costumes are fine, but whatever. Watch it for a good laugh, but be ready with cocktails so you can drink every time someone does or says something totally predictable and melodramatic.

My rating: 1 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Jeremy Turner

Why didn’t anyone TELL me this was so good?  This is one of those many BBC miniseries that I missed when it originally came out.  Then I saw it for sale everywhere, but could never find a review.  Well, lemme tell ya:  it’s FABULOUS.  Great acting, great story, GREAT costumes.  Tells the tale of three nannies in Edwardian England, with really riveting story lines for each.  The only problem is that it’s a serial, and seems to have been cancelled after the first season… so you’re left to guess what happens to the characters and story lines.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Shuna Harwood

Falls into the usual trap of based-on-a-real-person movies of trying to cover too much time.  Set in the 1900s and 1910s, it tells the story of Alma Mahler, wife of composer Gustav Mahler.  The up side is that Sarah Wynter as Alma is really quite good, and visually it’s beautiful with lovely costumes.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Consolata Boyle

This was far less hokey than I thought it would be. Ignore the film poster! Michelle Pfeiffer plays an older courtesan who falls in love with a young man in turn of the century Paris.  The love interest got on my nerves, but that’s outweighed by the very lovely costumes.

My rating: 3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Anais Romand

The tale of a French family set before and after World War I.  Not terribly engaging, although the costumes are nice.  In French.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Annie Symons

Keira Knightley is surprising unannoying in this adaptation, Hans Matheson does a good job portraying the title character, and the miniseries format allows the story to take its time — and I actually cried a little at the end. Very good sets and scenery; the costuming, being mostly peasanty, wasn’t anything to get excited about, although there were a few nice dresses on Tonya.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Susannah Buxton

If you don’t love this ITV miniseries about a wealthy family and their servants in pre-WWI England, then I don’t know if we can be friends! It’s very Gosford Park/Upstairs Downstairs… and the plot goes in directions that will pleasantly surprise you.  The acting is fabulous — I love Elizabeth McGovern as the drawl-y American wife, and Maggie Smith is To Die For as the dowager/mother in law (“What’s a weekend?”).  There are three daughters in the family, and they along with mom get some SMASHING 1910s costumes; furthermore, the costumes are very well suited to all the characters, with the abrasive older daughter wearing lots of stripes and the soft-hearted youngest daughter in florals. Loved it, can’t wait for the next season!  And people:  IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ENTAIL!

My rating: 5 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Alexandra Byrne

Inspired by the true story of how J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp) wrote Peter Pan, with Kate Winslet as the mother of four boys who inspired the playwright.  I liked but didn’t love it — it was touching and fun, although the Hallmark quotient was a bit high.  But on to the important stuff!  Kate Winslet looked divine, although I was hoping for more screen time for her gorgeous blue evening dress, plus there was another pink evening dress of which you really only got a glimpse.  Lots of smart blouse and skirt combinations for day.  However, the film is supposed to be set in 1903, but looked (costume-wise) like 1910-12ish.  Where were the pigeon-front bodices/blouses?  What was with the V-necks (very flattering, but anachronistic imho) on Winslet’s blouses?  Julie Christie as Winslet’s mother gets ONE dress (which looked straight out of 1909-10) for the whole film (and she’s supposed to be a well-to-do society woman), and Radha Mitchell as Mrs. Barrie got the short end of the stick — most everything she wore was just plain ugly and emphasized her bony frame.

My rating: 4 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Ruth Myers

Pretty terrible tale of two young English men who in 1898 are sent to fight in the Sudan.  Kate Hudson plays the woman torn between them.  The costumes aren’t anything to write home about.

My rating:  1 (out of 5)

Costume designer: John Bright

Unfortunately tedious and uninspired — a sad statement for a Merchant Ivory production!  Of course it’s visually beautiful, but watch it with the mute button on.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Alexandra Byrne

A really wonderful restaging of the classic Shakespeare play with Kenneth Branagh in the title role.  The story is reset in a sort of pseudo-Edwardian era, and Kate Winslet as Ophelia looks smashing.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Ann Roth

One of those movies that tries WAY too hard to be an Oscar winner.  Nicole Kidman looks great as Virginia Woolf in the 1910s, although all of her speeches seem created with an Oscar clip in mind.  The real stealers of the show are Julianne Moore and Toni Collette in the 1950s scenes.  Great costumes, although pretty one note.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Monica Howe

I LOVE this book, but I think it’s way too depressing to translate to film.  That being said, I think Gillian Anderson does a great job as Lily and the costumes are gorgeous.  Eric Stoltz doesn’t quite work for me as one of Lily’s love interests.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Jenny Beavan

Just a wonderful, wonderful movie.  Merchant Ivory adaptation of the book by E.M. Forster (and yes, it’s HOWARDS with no apostrophe — it’s the name of the house that plays a pivotal role).  Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter play sisters whose lives take different paths.  Beautiful 1908-10ish costumes.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Ngila Dickson

A relatively entertaining look at magic and forbidden love in early 20th century Vienna.  Edward Norton is the title magician, Jessica Biel is his forbidden aristocratic love, Rufus Sewell is the evil crown prince, and Paul Giamatti is the police inspector who brings things together.  It’s all relatively entertaining until the hit-you-over-the-head “here’s the answer to the mystery” ending, with a totally implausible ending (which I won’t give away, but please note:  a) the woman’s outfit and b) how ridiculous it is).  Biel wears understated but pretty and very accurate-looking early 1900s dresses.

My rating: 3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Penny Rose

Okay, this has to win the prize for cheesiness — Chris O’Donnell as a young Ernest Hemingway (ha!) and Sandra Bullock as the older nurse he falls in love with during World War I.  But… I love Bullock’s tailored suits and she wears great hats.  See it if you have a REALLY high tolerance for cheese.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Maurizio Millenotti

An adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play that tries way too hard.  Everyone looks good, the dialogue is there, the actors are there, but it falls curiously flat.  Reese Witherspoon irritates me in this.  Great costumes, but you have to work really hard to make it through to the end. See An Ideal Husband instead.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Jenny Beavan

I liked this movie, but I didn’t think it was anything revolutionary. Colin Firth plays George VI who has a serious stammer, Geoffrey Rush is the speech therapist who helps him, and Helena Bonham Carter plays Queen Elizabeth. While the costumes aren’t flashy, they are REALLY well done — when I first saw Queen Mary, I gasped, because she looked JUST like she’d stepped out of a photograph of the real thing. Appropriately, Wallis Simpson gets some pretty spiffy outfits.

My rating: 4 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Deborah Lynn Scott

The first half of this movie is fabulous with its tale of three brothers and the woman caught between them — but when Brad Pitt decides to get tortured and grows his beard out and generally mopes around in the second half, it all falls apart.  HIL-arious (unintentionally) ending.  Julia Ormond is riveting as always and looks great in her 1910s wardrobe.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Odile Dicks-Mireaux

This BBC production tells the story of Prince John, the learning disabled and epileptic younger son of George V and Mary of England.  The film tries to contrast his very sheltered life with the immense events that surrounded him and his family (especially World War I).  Unfortunately, because Johnnie is so removed from all of this, we end up dipping in and out of his life versus his family’s life/political events — so that we see everyone freaking out about how the British are about to lose WWI, and then suddenly Johnnie’s hanging out in a field with his older brother who mentions that the war is now over.  All this skipping around made me feel totally uninvested in the story.  Also, some of the characterizations were weird, especially Queen Alexandra, who by this time was very very deaf, but in the movie seems to be interacting with everyone just fine.  Nice Edwardian costumes but nothing to write home about.  Worth aTV watch/rental but don’t buy it.

My rating:  2 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Lucinda Wright

A BBC miniseries following the rise and fall of one of the most famous music hall performers of all time. It’s fine, but nothing to get too excited about — you can tell the budget was somewhat limited. The main issue is that the lead actress plays Marie from about age 18 to her 40s-50s — and she just isn’t convincing as young Marie.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Jenny Beavan

Another wonderful Merchant-Ivory adaptation of an E.M. Forster novel, this one gets high ratings for great characters and a more complex plot than usual. The title character is a man coming to terms with his homosexuality and trying to find love in Edwardian England, which is no small feat. The ever foxy Rupert Graves plays one of his love interests (Hugh Grant is the other). The only down side is that because most of the main characters are men, there isn’t TOO much female costume eye candy (although there is a bit).

My rating: 4 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Anthony Powell

I was underwhelmed by this movie, about Beatrix Potter’s publishing of her children’s books and her relationship with her publisher, but it’s not really bad. Everyone hits the right notes, and it’s not too twee (despite the animated drawings), but it just felt very Hallmark Hall of Fame. I did like Emily Watson as the independent Millie. The costuming was very good – lots of tweedy Edwardian suits – altho I saw this on a plane, so my view wasn’t very good.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Anna Senior

Such a fabulous movie based on a fabulous book.  Judy Davis plays Sybylla Melvyn, a literate tomboy growing up in the Australian outback who yearns for much more.  Sam Neill is the landowner who falls in love with her, and Sybylla is forced to choose between a life of conventional values or independence.  Just such a moving, wonderful movie.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Cecil Beaton & Michael Neuwirth

The classic — see where all stereotypes about Edwardian costuming began.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Dominique Gay & Agnes Negre

[Released as La Gloire de mon Père in France] A wonderful, wonderful coming of age story set in early 1900s Provence.  It’s funny, sad, heartwarming, and mom/Augustine wears some great clothes.  In French.

See also my review of the sequel.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Agnes Negre

[Released as Le Château de ma Mère in France] The sequel to My Father’s Glory — same review as above.  In French.

See also my review of the prequel.

My rating:  4 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Catherine Martin & Angus Strathie

Okay, don’t hit me — I know everyone loved this movie, but I have to say I would have liked it a whole lot better if it had stopped the lightning-fast seizure-inducing editing for ONE SECOND so I could look at the costumes (which were terribly periodESQUE — the only ones I really liked were Nicole Kidman’s Indian-inspired show costumes).  It just hit me over the head with its hammer and didn’t stop until the end.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Milena Canonero

A sad, romantic, fabulous movie starring the brilliant Meryl Streep as a Danish baroness who finds love and herself in Africa.  Gorgeous costuming, plus you’ll have a good cry.

My rating:  4 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Janet Patterson

I really liked this movie and was surprised that more people didn’t see it.  Not only is it an exciting retelling of the classic tale with great use of digital effects, the London scenes showcase Olivia Williams as Mrs. Darling wearing some BEAUTIFUL Edwardian gowns.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Jenny Beavan & John Bright

Okay, romantic period filmmaking just doesn’t get any better than this.  A Merchant Ivory production of the E.M. Forster novel, with Helena Bonham Carter and a raft of immensely talented actors, fabulous scenery in England and Tuscany, and an intelligent romance.

See also my review of the 2007 ITV production.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Frances Tempest

An excellent example of why you shouldn’t try to improve on an original. I might have liked this better if it wasn’t trying to redo one of the most fabulous costume movies of all time, but it was. Despite having more time (because of being a mini-series), and trying to bookend the story differently, this adaptation didn’t really add more to the story. The only thing it did better was to more strongly highlight that Lucy’s objections to George are class-based. Otherwise, go watch the 1985 version. The costumes were fine but nothing to make me say you should watch this.

See also my review of the 1985 feature film.

My rating:  3 (out of 5) (altho in comparison with the 1985 version, it gets a 2)

Costume designer: Kasia Walicka-Maimone

More interesting for its portrayal of Appalachian folk music than for its storyline, which centers on a female professor who goes to the mountains to record music and (of course) falls in love in the process.  Nice functional Edwardian clothing.

My rating:  3 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Deborah Lynn Scott

Wonderful, romantic, exciting, beautiful and at the same time cheesy, soap opera-y, and totally melodramatic.  See it anyway.  Fabulous costumes.

My rating:  4 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Monica Howe

An E.M. Forster adaptation (surprisingly NOT done by Merchant Ivory) that’s too often overlooked.  Helen Mirren plays a middle aged English woman who falls in love with an Italian man half her age.  She dies (in Italy) leaving a child, and her siblings (played by Helena Bonham Carter, Judy Davis, and Rupert Graves) go to Italy in search of the child.

My rating:  4 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Moidele Bickel

A very arty, slow moving film that requires some patience, but will absolutely blow you away. It’s a very small story set in a small village in rural Germany right before World War I, with very large implications for totalitarianism and society in general. The costumes are appropriately subdued and simple, but they suit the design and atmosphere of the film.

My rating: 5 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Sandy Powell

A wonderful, dark, complicated tale based on the book by Henry James.  Helena Bonham Carter is the Englishwoman torn between the man she loves (Linus Roache), the American heiress who she truly cares about (Alison Elliott), and her family.  Absolutely gorgeous 1910s costumes in beautiful Poiret-inspired jewel tones.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)

Costume designer: Consolata Boyle

A very quiet yet well-acted and thought-provoking tale, about a boy accused of stealing and the larger ramifications as his family defends him.  Rebecca Pigeon is great as his older sister, and wears some really smart tailored 1910s outfits.

My rating:  5 (out of 5)