CAMOMILE LAWN

Once you have read Mary Wesley's book 'The Camomile Lawn', you must view this series. Filmed in 1992, it brings to life the characters that we grew to love. Each character looked as I thought they should. Nudity was unexpected, but seemed correct in the context.Beginning on the eve of WWII, 1939, this film unfolds as a history of the family. It gives us strong, characters and luxurious, rich clothes and scenery. The house in Cornwell on the cliff is as beautiful as we would want. Felicity Kendall is Aunt Helena, at once a snob, but wonderfully lovable in her way. Jennifer Ehle as Calypso, is the beautiful,sexy daughter who would rather pretend she married her husband for wealth than admit to any feelings of love. Oliver, Polly, Sophy, Richard, and the entire family are just the best.Once war breaks out, things stay the same. The characters play out their lives at home, or at work in London or in Cornwall. News of the war and life and death arrive via radio or by telegram. No nasty war scenes, only the bombings as Calypso gives birth beneath a kitchen table. The film as the book, alternates between the present, as the family proceeds to the funeral of Max. Then alternates back to the significant events of the character's lives. It s a lively, loving family filled with their foibles and their lives. A remarkable story encompassing 45 years. We see the characters as teens and then as mature adults. This is a story of the privileged during the war. War has come home but does not bother us too much. War is tangible but not many of these characters suffer because of it.Wonderful film written and directed as Mary Wesley would approve. Do see it, you will be the better for it.Recommended. prisrob 06-13-13

The Camomile Lawn (1992) is a television adaptation of the book of the same name by Mary Wesley, produced by Glenn Wilhide & Sophie Belhetchet. Although it was not a factor for me, make sure you are purchasing a region that will play in your player. Here are the pros & cons of this four episode series as I see it, I hope it helps you.Pros:1. Overall the acting is very good, especially the parts played by Felicity Kendal & Paul Eddington2. Rebecca Hall also does a great job acting and is not hard to look at either3. Overall an interesting storyCons:1. I usually do not have this problem, but I found it hard to understand how some of the characters were related or knew each other in the first place

I wanted to really enjoy this miniseries because of the good reviews and because of the subject matter--generally favorable reviews from pros and the general public about an extended family reminiscing about their lives before, during and after World War II. However, I just found the whole effort along with its characters rather tedious. I have not read the novel by Mary Wesley that this miniseries is based on. Perhaps that is my problem. Nevertheless, I just found the entire presentation along with its characters and its tremendous amount of sex to be very melodramatic I don't consider myself to be a prude; however, with everyone either "getting it on" or trying desperately to "get it on" I grew a little weary of the story and its subject matter.This presentation has many good actors that I have admired in other performances but NOT in this one. I adored Jennifer Ehle in "Pride Prejudice" but found her as blond Calypso in this outing to be very shallow and unconvincing as this rather ditzy character. . I also adored Toby Stephens as Philby in `Cambridge Spies" but not as extremely randy Oliver which I just found the character to be annoying, In fact I did not care for Felicity Kendal or her most irritating husband played by Paul Eddington (both of "Good neighbors fame). I did not find them to be interesting at all. I just found it impossible to "connect" with any of the characters or characterizations. (The one thing I can say about the characters in this presentation is they remained dreary from youth to old age and they remained so no matter who portrayed them even if it were the likes of Claire Bloom (Sophie in old age) or Rosemary Harris (Calypso in old age)

I wanted to see this movie because I like actor Toby Stephens and wanted to see something of his early work. I thought the first three episodes were great in their portrayal of the the lives of young people and their struggles with love and growing up in prewar and wartime England. I felt a real fondness for the characters after all they'd been through together by the end of the first disc (first three episodes). However, the last two episodes (disc two) were a disappointment. After becoming attached to these endearing young people and their characters, we are robbed of them as they age and turn into different people (actors) all together. Why not use the same actors and age them? Surely makeup and clothing can do that! Additionally, the whole ending was too quick and short and very anticlimactic. But perhaps that is what war does to all of us, it changes us into different people and we are all robbed of certain ones we have loved, so maybe it is appropriate that we loose those young people in the end. Still though, I was sorry not to get to see more of Toby Stephens. He has only one scene in the fourth episode and none at all in the fifth (disc two). So I only gave it three stars, one star per episode that I liked.

Entertaining enough, to keep you watching. A bit eyebrow-lifting, for husband & I both, to see Jennifer Ehle, baring it all, with full frontal nudity, & emiting obscenities...namely, the "F" word, repeatedly, when describing what she felt was the sound the train was making, while she was in her sleeper booth with her new husband.With her natural (blond) hair color, in this miniseries, & filmed in her pre-Elizabeth Bennet days, her character revealed to us exactly what lay beneath Lizzy's ample cleavage, prior to her having won that role. Obviously, an actress without inhibitions, for her to portray Calypso, who, although a virgin on her wedding day, turned out to possess very loose morals, as the film progressed.We did not care for the ending of this story, & it is one that we will probably not view again.

I fell in love with this wonderful adaptation of Mary Wesley's novel when it was first broadcast on Channel 4 in 1992, and it has remained my favourite period drama to this day.Brilliantly acted by a superb cast including Felicity Kendall and Paul Eddington, 'The Camomile Lawn' follows the lives of a group of young cousins, their family and friends through two timelines (WWII and the mid 1980's). The story manages to be wickedly decadent and funny, but also touching, sad and occasionally shocking. The horrors of life during the war are accurately depicted, giving the viewer a real sense of what it would have been like during those dark days. The period costumes are excellent and the Cornish scenery is simply breathtaking (the family's beautiful house which overlooks the sea is apparently now a B&B that you can actually stay in!).'The Camomile Lawn' does deal with adult themes and contains very strong language and some full frontal nudity that may be offensive to anyone expecting a Downton Abbey style production. But for more broad minded viewers (especially those with an interest in WWII), it is a thoroughly absorbing, entertaining and thought provoking series that can be enjoyed time and time again. Highly recommended.

First saw this on Channel 4 back in 1992 and always remembered it for being very sexy. A delight to view it again more recently and I have a much more rounded feel for the series, a very good drama and really strong performances from the whole cast which includes the actors playing the same set of characters when they were young and then forty years later.At any age it's a joy to watch Felicity Kendall and the late Paul Eddington in the early sequences set during WWII, with young Tara Fitzgerald, Jennifer Ehle and Toby Stephens (the latter pair in their first screen roles). Ms Ehle is particularly sexy and totally captivating in her performance both naked and immaculately dressed. She reminded me of another actress, Kate Nelligan, who set my screen on fire in a BBC production, 'Therese Raquin' back in 1979. Like all of us they have both matured gracefully but will always leave their raunchy footprint for us viewers to remember as their images are on tape or disc forever. Unlike us mere mortals who might leave a thought only to be remembered, if we're lucky.The story progresses through the war (don't expect an action fest of battles) and into the 1980's where those youngsters reappear as mature and are played by Virginia McKenna, Rosemary Harris (Ehle's real mother), Richard Johnson and Claire Bloom playing another grown up character. This time set at a funeral, and we catch up with the characters lives.Directed by the late Peter Hall and based on the Mary Wesley acclaimed novel. 264 minutes, English subtitles.

How different are lives and thinking nowadays. Even when 'naughty' things were happening there was none of theendless crudity and vulgarity one has to put up with every day in reality and on the television. I maybe old-fashioned but there seems to be very little charm anymore. Charm is seen in this very well received film. Please do watch it for the different characters and the way they all behave with one another! Highly recommended!

Many years ago, I read Mary Wesley's book and since she lived in Totnes which was my chosen market town, I was thrilled to find this film on two discs. I thought the cast was pretty stellar, all characters were believable and we especially enjoyed the 'younger generations', playing with wild abundance. The costumes and settings, and of course, the Cornwall we so much adore (we stayed in beautiful South-Devon for some 8+ years) as well as the often witty dialogues were a great joy to us too. Would have liked to get some extra material, interviews, etc., as the film covers time-travelling between WW2 & now (which was shown on TV in the early 90th - so, it's very past 'present' now in nearly 2017....). Getting any additional information is always a welcome extra for us.But even without them, I would buy this again - and it made me eager to dig out the book once more for a re-read...

The Camomile Lawn tells the story of how members of one large extended family go through a progressive loss of innocence prior, during and after WWII. The opening chapter is concerned with family holidays to Uncle Richard's house in Cornwall where Oliver, Calypso, Sophy and Polly enjoy fabulous visits and carefree experiences. Once war is declared, that idyllic existence is tarnished as one by one they all feel the effects of the war. Subsequently, many years later, the older versions of the main characters all congregate for a funeral where they share their experiences and reopen old wounds and rivalries.its hard to believe that its been 22 years since this excellent mini series was aired on channel 4. Although relatively low budget, the actors do a great job with a sharp script and inject a real vibrancy into their characters. Jennifer Ehle and Tara Fitzgerald stand out as the beauties of the piece, but the whole cast are good and the "oldies" are a faithful representation of what the younger characters would likely evolve into.Mary wesley always liked to blow a long, protracted raspberry at the upper classes in her novels, but in "The cammomile lawn" she exchanges her sarcasm for fondess of the courage (although often flawed) of the war generation. As with any Wesley novel, she shows characters who are deeply complicated and have differing measures of virtue and deceit. This translates well to the screen in this adaptation.The 80's and early 90's produced some wonderful T.V. period pieces which I think would be difficult to make with the same degree of affection today. Perhaps it's just the years passing, but as that period becomes less relevant to the modern generation, I have noticed the shift from warm nostaglia to matter of fact story telling in subsequent productions of recent years.Great fun and has something for every "Mad dog and Englishman!"