First of all, let me state that I have always liked Joanne Whalley, but having just watched this miniseries for the first time, I felt that she was just not right for the part. I have not seen the original Gone With the Wind for at least 35 or more years, but found myself thinking all the time of Vivien Leigh's superior portrayal of Scarlett. The strangest thing was that I never could stand Vivien Leigh, perhaps because of the normal female reaction to the character she was playing, but she WAS Scarlett!
One of the main problems with Joanne Whalley was her voice. It was too low and at times gratingly harsh for a well bred Georgia belle such as Scarlett, who would have spoken in a higher 'lttle girl' pitch and 'soft as honey' manner, and she had definitely not mastered the accent. She sounded more like a Georgia cracker when she remembered the accent, at other times it resembled a Tennessee Hillbilly or disappeared entirely. Worst of all in my opinion was her constant grinning showing both top and bottom teeth. Ladies of that time only smiled demurely. Showing the teeth was considered vulgar low class and as recently as 50 years ago was not done by anyone wishing to appeared refined. If you watch the original GWTW, Leigh did not show her teeth when she smiled, but she certainly used her dimples to great effect. The other fault was with Ms. Whalley's distracting physical appearance, the very dark brown eyes for example, which of course was not her fault, but no amount of talent will compensate when an actor on the screen is not physically right for the role. Scarlett should have been played by an actress with green or at least light hazel eyes.
Now to the story itself. I have not read the book, but I have heard that it did not descend into the cheap melodrama that the miniseries did in the final part. After throughly enjoying the first parts, I thought I was watching a soap opera based on a Victorian housemaid's penny dreadful/romance. I had to suspend all credulity toward the end as they were just playing by the numbers and you could see what was coming next.
One of the main problems with Joanne Whalley was her voice. It was too low and at times gratingly harsh for a well bred Georgia belle such as Scarlett, who would have spoken in a higher 'lttle girl' pitch and 'soft as honey' manner, and she had definitely not mastered the accent. She sounded more like a Georgia cracker when she remembered the accent, at other times it resembled a Tennessee Hillbilly or disappeared entirely. Worst of all in my opinion was her constant grinning showing both top and bottom teeth. Ladies of that time only smiled demurely. Showing the teeth was considered vulgar low class and as recently as 50 years ago was not done by anyone wishing to appeared refined. If you watch the original GWTW, Leigh did not show her teeth when she smiled, but she certainly used her dimples to great effect. The other fault was with Ms. Whalley's distracting physical appearance, the very dark brown eyes for example, which of course was not her fault, but no amount of talent will compensate when an actor on the screen is not physically right for the role. Scarlett should have been played by an actress with green or at least light hazel eyes.
Now to the story itself. I have not read the book, but I have heard that it did not descend into the cheap melodrama that the miniseries did in the final part. After throughly enjoying the first parts, I thought I was watching a soap opera based on a Victorian housemaid's penny dreadful/romance. I had to suspend all credulity toward the end as they were just playing by the numbers and you could see what was coming next.