Great pick

Our family likes to watch movies. I suppose I’m the major influence here; I’ve always been a film fan and rent, buy or go to films for relaxation and fun. Alice grew up with me watching and talking about movies. Movies are also pretty popular as a way for kids to spend time, so Alice watched movies at others kids’ homes, during sleepovers and developed her own likes and dislikes. She likes teen movies (“She’s the Man”), animated films (“The Incredibles”) and the occasional scary film.  And then there’s my husband. He’s less of a film connoisseur but enjoys vegging with a good movie. Patrick’s tastes run toward sci-fi (“Star Trek”), broad comedies (“Airplane”). I prefer quality dramas (“Shawshank Redemption”), independents (“The Savages”) and foreign films (“La Vie en Rose”).

With that diversity of tastes, it’s not often that there’s one film choice all really like. Emphasis really. There are a lot of compromises on at least one person’s part if we all watch together. Usually it’s me alone, or Alice alone, or two of us, but rarely three. Not that I don’t try. I’ll scan my memory or Netflix or Metacritic for film ideas for our family to watch. If I’m lucky enough to get all three of us in front of the DVD player at the same time, my choices – or Alice’s choice for us – will often fizzle. We employ the 20 minute rule – watch 20 minutes and if we hate it we watch something else.

So, it was a great treat and surprise that we all loved watcing Cranford this weekend. Cranford is a 5 part series from the BBC produced in 2007. It stars Judy Dench and Eileen Atkinson and Imelda Staunton. The series is about a small Cheshire town in the 1840s, centered around the Jenkins’ sisters. The small town is tightly knit – the spinsters and widows know everyone’s business but are there for each other. There’s a handsome new doctor in the village, so romance is likely. And there is the Victorian clash of  nearby aristocracy and local poverty.

The great thing about DVD series is that you don’t have to wait a week for an episode. If you want to watch five in a row (and you have the time) you can. We loved watching it and got through nearly the whole series in one night. Alice begged to watch ‘just one more’ episode. Hey, what are Saturday nights for if not to stay up too late?

The series is very well done (it was nominated for three Golden Globes for example), but I’ve been pondering why it resonated for all three of us. Part of it, I think, is what Cranford is not. It’s not violent, there’s no swearing, sex is limited to hand holding, and it is far away from what any of us see in our daily lives or are exposed to in the news. But the basic appeal is the sense of connection and love. Between sisters. Between friends. Between generations. Over time and with steadfast devotion. Within a community. And the quiet strength of women who live without men by choice and by chance. And of individuals whose choices are made with integrity and affect the well-being of others.

Like the stories of Jane Austen, the drama of Cranford draws on human emotions and human relationships in another age and in another country. As you watch you get caught up in the feeling and enjoy what you learn about custom and morality. Whatever each of us got from watching Cranford, I’m thrilled to have found it (thank you, recommendations from Netflix) and to have the shared experience in our family.

~ by modelmom on December 22, 2008.