Sunday 8 March 2009

I have been mainly...


watching this for the last couple of days and have been completely fascinated by it. Strangely enough, I still don't know whether I actually like the central character of Lillie Langtry. She was the Victorian equivalent of these celebrities who are famous just for being famous, and who got ahead by looking pretty and sleeping their way to the top. It's hard to tell if this is a true representation of the real woman, but it is compelling viewing. Lillie had her share of triumphs and tragedies and a lot of love affairs, and does seem to have been a shameless self promoter who sometimes caused pain to others and/or exploited them for her own advancement. And yet, she was feisty and used her own form of power in an age when men were pretty much in control of everything.

All in all, I think I admire Lillie more than like her, but it's the mark of fine programme making and intriguing subject material when you find you're not exactly rooting for the central character all the time, but you just can't stop watching anyway.