Middlemarch Reviews

The BBC TV production of "Middlemarch" was my first introduction to Rufus Sewell. I have been fortunate in some ways that I never read George Eliot's classic story, so I don't have to pass judgment on Rufus's portrayal of Will Ladislaw, per se.

However, I still remember my amazed reaction at his opening scene. I saw the instant personification of my passion for the Pre-Raphaelites. Here at last was someone who not only had their masculine beauty, but he seemed to grasp the elements of exactly what a young man would have been like in that particular era of history.

I quickly realised I was seeing a rare actor who could subconsciously connect with a period in an uncanny way. He could walk, talk, think, act like a young man would have done in that age. He even looked like he felt comfortable in the clothes of the time (where a lot of actors fail dismally). I love Will's somewhat restrained role.

The scene in the parlour where he describes to Dorothea his childhood is amazingly sympathetic. I often wonder if Rufus may have been thinking of losing his own father at a young age to have given that particular scene such poignancy.

As a production, "Middlemarch" is somewhat ponderous at times although it has all the classic hallmarks of good British television - and there are some excellent performances from the great British acting fraternity including Robert Hardy, Sir Michael Horden, Douglas Hodge in the main role of Dr Lydgate, and best of all Patrick Malahide as the dour and vindictive Edward Casaubon. Not being much of a fan of the Austen or Victorian do-gooder heroines myself, I found Dorothea somewhat irritating at times, but Juliet Aubrey played her role with sympathy.

From Jenny, Pennsylvania USA

Since this was the first thing that I had noticed Rufus in, it is only fitting that I begin my reviews with this. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed this production very much. Having read the book (many years ago), I felt that they captured the tone and look of the original very well.

As for the performances, while I found Rufus beautiful to look at (of course), I felt his portrayal of Will was a little stilted. There were moments of absolute brilliance – the scene where he talks to Dorothea about how the one thing he wants most is the one thing denied him, in particular – but overall, I didn’t get a real sense of what Ladislaw was about.

This is true in the book as well – he is not as well-developed of a character as either say, Dorothea or Tertius. The same can be said of a lot of the lesser characters in the production overall.