Reviews

The end of December was the date of the release of the last episode of the last season of Downton Abbey. I kept up with the series from the beginning, so now I can look back at my reflections and impressions. Generally speaking, it is a drama about the noble family and their servants capturing the time spin from 1912 to 1925. What makes it outstanding is a great variety of characters, each with a remarkable appearance and personality. It feels so good to watch the play of talented attractive British actors, look at British landscapes and listen to the adorable British pronunciation.

I believe the allure of the great interiors and meticulous historical details kept the majority of the series' audience. I was excited to learn that some of the scenes were filmed in the real estate building and the premises. You won't find any teapot or machine that is out of the epoch. Hosanna to the film's artists and stylists! The script is not the strongest point in the series. Dynamic at the beginning, there are plenty of hackneyed turns that you expect to see in the third- rate romance but not there. Some of the characters do not change and mature as the time goes by. Petty home wars which ended with peace in one season are revived in the following one, it seems, because the script writers couldn't have boiled the interest of the audience without the old dusty conflict. Still, the first three seasons are really worth watching, and the last three can be skipped. But I was glued to the series up to the very end.

When my colleague suggested watching this movie, she showed me the Shakespeare-reading scene. As I found it really amusing, I later watched the whole piece. And I didn't regret the time I spent! To say honestly, I'm not the old movie addict who knows all the history of American and European film industry back to black-and-white silent pictures and being woken up at night can list all the prominent actors and directors. I'm not into movies at all, which is the reason that my watching list is highly haphazard with British series followed up by French melodramas and historical documentaries. Bluebeard's Eighth Wife is a really nice piece featuring good-looking actors, jokes, funny without the slightest trace of vulgarity. The plot is a turned inside out ''Taming of the Shrew'', and no wonder it appears as a book the main hero reads, as I mentioned at the beginning of my review. However, it is common knowledge that not the plot itself, but its presentation matters, and in this case it does not undermine expectations. The naivety of the old times has a special charm, especially the good old happy end, so enjoy!