hjmsia49 Those of us who lived through WWII may be taken aback by the characters in this film which are at odds with our impressions of the staid Brits during that era. The assertion that some of their bizarre conduct was a result of the war is not totally convincing. The cast is uniformly excellent especially Felicity Kendal as Helene and Rebecca Hall as a young Sophy. Oliver Cotten was convincing as the lecherous Max although I felt his German tirades were a bit overdone. Those of us who have only seen Jennifer Ehle in "Pride and Prejudice" will be very surprised at her radically different portrayal of the amoral young Calypso. I do feel that some of the nudity and graphic language was gratuitous and prevented the film from reaching the larger audience it deserved. I found a certain irony in the beginning and end of the film. In the opening scenes, young Oliver and young Sophy discuss the evils of fascism and in the final scene old Oliver and old Sophy drive away in a Volkswagon Beetle. Their long delayed reunion had a striking similarity to that of Lionel and Jean in "As Time Goes By." The editing of only a few scenes would have given greater circulation to the film.

eastbergholt2002 The Camomile Lawn is one of my favorite British TV adaptations. It's based on a book by Mary Wesley, and was first shown in 1992. The director is Sir Peter Hall who founded both the National Theatre and the RSC. There are five episodes and it's compulsive viewing. It's a family drama set during the early years of World War II. In the last episode the characters meet at a funeral thirty years later, giving it similarities to the Big Chill. The main characters are seven cousins / friends who spend part of their summers in Cornwall at the home of Aunt Helena (Felicity Kendall) and Uncle Richard (Paul Eddington). The story begins in August 1939, before the Germans invade Poland. The friends, are mostly 18 or 19 and join the war effort when war is declared. The action then moves to London during the Blitz. The young cast all have an abundance of energy and charisma, especially Jennifer Ehle (Young Calypso), Tara Fitzgerald (Young Polly)and Rebecca Hall (Young Sophy). Philip Larkin famously said that sexual intercourse began in 1963, but he needed to get out more. With death all around them, the lead characters live for today and take a hedonistic approach to sex and booze. As the older Polly says (Virginia McKenna) "it was a happy time." Mary Wesley creates strong female characters who all seem wise, pragmatic and fun. The men mostly seem flawed and weak in some way. They are either dim-witted, obsessed with sex or confused about what they want. Eddington (Uncle Richard) is regarded by his family as something of a joke. Toby Stephens (Young Oliver) plays a left wing idealist who serves in the Spanish Civil War, lusts after Jennifer Ehle and complains about spending his army career running away from the Germans. Oliver Cotton (Max) plays a violinist who escapes from the clutches of the Nazis in Vienna and chases after the entire female cast. In Episode Five we meet older versions of the characters, including: Oliver (Richard Johnson), Sophy (Claire Bloom) and Calypso (Rosemary Harris)who talk about their past. Overall, it's fun, fast paced, beautifully written and brilliantly directed.

May-11 After reading the rave reviews on this site I bought this DVD. I love British (period) drama, and many favourite actors and actresses were in these mini-series (Jennifer Ehle, Paul Eddington, Toby Stephens...). What can I say? It's absolutely awful. There isn't anything redeeming about it: the plot is ridiculous and boring, the script is embarrassing and all seem to be giving the worst performances of their lives. As mentioned by others, there are lots of delicate issues like adultery etc. and usually I'm fine with it, but in these mini-series all incidents are just uninteresting and ridiculous. For the first time, I gave a 1 out of 10 rating to British mini-series. I'm not even watching the second DVD. P.S.: By the way, I was particularly disappointed with Jennifer Ehle, who I have loved in each and every role (Pride and Prejudice, Possession, Paradise Road).

Stanton_North Unforgettable adaptation of Mary Wesley's novel about a social circle in WWII - featuring affairs, incest and wife-swapping: "an immensely happy time", says one of the women, of the Blitz. Yet the series is far from tawdry. Like Calypso - the character everyone remembers - The Camomile Lawn is gorgeous to watch; glamorous; obsessed with sex; but slowly proves to have hidden depths and a strong, if unconventional, morality. Jennifer Ehle proves herself one of the sexiest figures to have been seen on screen, and a classic and classy actress to boot.