Wives and Daughters

1999

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1
  • 0
8.1| 0h30m| en| More Info
Released: 28 November 1999 Ended
Producted By: BBC
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/wives/index.html
Synopsis

Wives and Daughters is a 1999 four part BBC serial adapted from the novel Wives and Daughters: An Everyday Story by Victorian author Elizabeth Gaskell. It focuses on Molly Gibson (Justine Waddell), the daughter of the town doctor, and the changes that occur in her life after her widowed father chooses to remarry. The union brings into her once-quiet life an ever-proper stepmother (Francesca Annis) and flirtatious stepsister, Cynthia (Keeley Hawes), while a friendship with the local squire brings about an unexpected romance.

... View More
Stream Online

The movie is currently not available onine

Director

Producted By

BBC

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime. Watch Now

Trailers & Images

Reviews

Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
ThiefHott Too much of everything
Btexxamar I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.
Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
harrysdixonjr This video is an interesting mistake. They seemed to have missed the comedy despite a superb cast of women who could handle comedy.Is it an early sudser? or a sitcom? The literary pretenses are a little silly. The plot and character manipulations are so mechanical that the fact that this is a piece of commercial fiction is obvious.This video proved that mediocre fiction should be edited down to a film no more than two hours long.The extra materials were dull. Was the Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone the story of Mrs. Gaskell's endless trips to Italy? Did she have only genteel boyfriends from Boston, or did she sample the local color? Did proper English ladies go to Rome for gigolos in those days? or were there enough in London? Why can't the BBC stop being so respectable and give us some good gossip?
George Parker "Wives and Daughters" is cut from the same cloth as "The Forsyte Saga" or "Mansfield Park" inasmuch as it is a Victorian soap opera about the this and that of 19th century English country life. The film centers on and swirls about Molly Gibson (Waddell), the somewhat plain but earnest teenage daughter of a physician, as it explores the ever crisscrossing lives of several neighboring families of varying station. A delightful look at the role of the distaff from matron to maid which imparts the flavor of the period, "Wives and Daughters" is a light-hearted drama laced with charm and wit which should appeal to anyone into films of the robust Victorian period. (B+)
henry-girling 'Wives and Daughters' is not usually as regarded as highly as the BBC's celebrated 'Pride and Prejudice' mini-series but it is just as good in its own way. The original author Elizabeth Gaskell was a major writer of her day and can stand comparison with most novelists except perhaps for Austen and Dickens. Her work is definitely still worth reading. This particular book was unfinished but one can't fault the way Andrew Davies has rounded off the story.The story covers Austen territory, two or three families, idiosyncratic supporting characters, love and marriage, hearth and society. All seen through the eyes of Molly Gibson. She is played splendidly by Justine Waddell who stays the centre of the film, even though surrounded by great actors like Michael Gambon, Bill Paterson, Penelope Wilton and Francesca Annis who are all perfect in their roles. The acting through out is excellent. The characters are real people, flawed and petty and proud and anxious, but you can't help loving them. Andrew Davies wanted to put across the feeling of what it means to be alive and he does that by showing what it is like to be human. Even small scenes like the card party for the young people are rich in character and emotion. The length of the mini-series allows character development, enables one to get to know the characters. It shows ordinary life but also how rich that ordinary life is. Molly learns about people, about herself and also about the world around her, even about the little creatures who live at the bottom of ponds.It repays watching time and again.
Estella I already knew this was going to be fab after I'd watched the first one, because I have seen lots of the BBC costume dramas, and they are always fab, and I was not disappointed in Wives and Daughters. The cast are (as always) excellent. Particulely Justine Waddel (Estella in Great Expectations) and Keeley Hawes (Lizzy in Our Mutal Friend) I can't wait for the final episode. I'm dying to see what happens!!

Similar Movies to Wives and Daughters