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Synopsis
Adapted by award-winning writer Andrew Davies from Alan Hollinghurst's Booker Prize-winning novel, this three-part saga is set during the hedonistic 1980s and stars a mix of new, young talent and established names. A story of love, class, sex and money, The Line of Beauty crawls deep under the skin of Thatcher's Britain, seen through the eyes and experiences of a young, gay man - from the euphoria of falling in love to the tragedy of AIDS. Framed by the two general elections, which returned Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative government to power, the series unfurls through four extraordinary years of change and tragedy.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 33 people found the following review helpful
I really enjoyed the book, so was very keen to see the dvd. It didn't disappoint. All the characters were true to the book, especially Tim Mc Innery's pompous millionaire Tory MP Gerald Fedden.
The early part of the story is hopeful, with young gay graduate Nick Guest moving into the house and the world of the Feddens, becoming part of the family and also becoming part of the gay scene.
The latter stages follow Nick through an unsettled love life and the parallel emergence of his antics and that of Gerald cause the bubble to burst.
The only crazy bit was the party scene at the Feddens when Nick persuades Margaret Thatcher to dance with her much to the delight of the crowds. Trying to suspend my disbelief that this delicate looking actress was really the lady herself was a bit difficult!
The early part of the story is hopeful, with young gay graduate Nick Guest moving into the house and the world of the Feddens, becoming part of the family and also becoming part of the gay scene.
The latter stages follow Nick through an unsettled love life and the parallel emergence of his antics and that of Gerald cause the bubble to burst.
The only crazy bit was the party scene at the Feddens when Nick persuades Margaret Thatcher to dance with her much to the delight of the crowds. Trying to suspend my disbelief that this delicate looking actress was really the lady herself was a bit difficult!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
In some ways this adaptation is better than the book on which it's based. Maybe that's because it's told as a story, while the book is literary fiction - something one does not read for 'the story'. Here on the screen you can see more easily than in the book how the Feddens wreck their own lives and try to hang the blame on gay lodger Nick Guest. I felt I could see more easily with real people Alan Hollinghurst's point that the gay man is a carrier of society's shadow side. In the book I never had a picture of Nick, Rachel, Catherine or Gerald.
The book is subtle, and sublime, but when I read it I didn't receive all the nuances here in the TV version. It wouldn't surprise me if Alan Hollinghurst himself didn't quite know what he'd written, and Andrew Davies added something. That's my fantasy. Or maybe it's just that when you see a gay character on TV you accept them for what they are, but in a book something else happens: you identify with them and have to see things from a gay perspective to identify with the story. Nonetheless, the difference between the book and this adaptation is fascinating, and something profound is being said here, about how much human beings resent each other.
The book is subtle, and sublime, but when I read it I didn't receive all the nuances here in the TV version. It wouldn't surprise me if Alan Hollinghurst himself didn't quite know what he'd written, and Andrew Davies added something. That's my fantasy. Or maybe it's just that when you see a gay character on TV you accept them for what they are, but in a book something else happens: you identify with them and have to see things from a gay perspective to identify with the story. Nonetheless, the difference between the book and this adaptation is fascinating, and something profound is being said here, about how much human beings resent each other.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
Here and now - the place and time to be. Handsome and talented, gay Oxford graduate Nick relishes his prolonged stay at the London family home of his friend Toby. Toby's father is charismatic MP Gerald Fedden, rolling in money and clearly destined to rise high in Thatcher's Government. Nick savours the opulence, the endless partying, being at the centre of the buzz.
Painful lessons lie ahead. Just as disease increasingly afflicts the gay community, Nick recognizes much that is rotten in the glittering world he has joined - it dominated by the blinkered and arrogant, they interested only in self-preservation and motivated by greed. They have no concern for the less fortunate, even those existing under their noses.
Gerald's troubled daughter sees things as they are. Woe betide others should she ever seek to expose the truth....
I know nothing of the book and can only comment on Andrew Davies' three part adaptation. It certainly looks good, but I could not help wondering if Nick was really so shallow in the novel. Here he certainly seems part of the problem, he himself an exploiter for as long as circumstances permit. Then there is Toby. He too appears astonishingly passive, never really making his mark. Tim McKinnerny excels in the plum role of Gerald - outwardly so affable and trustworthy, but secretly engaged in dubious activities, both business and sexual.
An attack on Thatcherism and the attitudes it seemed to encourage? Sadly we now know that in any party much which disturbs lies beneath the gloss. "The Line of Beauty" could perhaps have involved us far more than it did, but the main point is successfully made. Be not led astray by outer show. Delve deep to appreciate how things truly are.
Painful lessons lie ahead. Just as disease increasingly afflicts the gay community, Nick recognizes much that is rotten in the glittering world he has joined - it dominated by the blinkered and arrogant, they interested only in self-preservation and motivated by greed. They have no concern for the less fortunate, even those existing under their noses.
Gerald's troubled daughter sees things as they are. Woe betide others should she ever seek to expose the truth....
I know nothing of the book and can only comment on Andrew Davies' three part adaptation. It certainly looks good, but I could not help wondering if Nick was really so shallow in the novel. Here he certainly seems part of the problem, he himself an exploiter for as long as circumstances permit. Then there is Toby. He too appears astonishingly passive, never really making his mark. Tim McKinnerny excels in the plum role of Gerald - outwardly so affable and trustworthy, but secretly engaged in dubious activities, both business and sexual.
An attack on Thatcherism and the attitudes it seemed to encourage? Sadly we now know that in any party much which disturbs lies beneath the gloss. "The Line of Beauty" could perhaps have involved us far more than it did, but the main point is successfully made. Be not led astray by outer show. Delve deep to appreciate how things truly are.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great adaptation of Hollinghurst's novel; hypnotic depiction of a...
This is a masterly TV adaptation, beautifully acted and filmed, of Alan Hollinghurst's Booker Prize winning novel; different in some details, but faithful to the spirit of the... Read more
Published 26 days ago by Goth lady
old fashioned tv
Old style tv adaptation ; perhaps very relevant again now with all the references to toffs , torys , truths and death by paparazzi . Read more
Published 2 months ago by cartoon
fantastic characters
While liking the main characters, I think the minor supporting characters are the best. I loved Floella Banjamin in this, she only has one short scene but she steals it, we need to... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. L. Rayner
INTERESTING
Very watchable, but offputting in parts. If you're not a great fan of heavy sexual content (albeit not wholly graphic), the show's not for you. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Paula C. Astridge
British tv at its best!
An excellent tv series that translates well to DVD. The story of a young man and his relationship with the family of a politician during Thatcher's years of power. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Nooshie W
Line of beauty review
This movie is good in the sense that the story telling is finely done. it moves you along in an era we have forgotten but the influences were there to see (with hindsight). Read more
Published 11 months ago by Gavin Slater
80's hate fest
This British pot-boiler has one thing going for it: the young men are uniformly good looking. The older men, however, are uniformly opinionated, right-wing Thatcherites whose... Read more
Published on 10 May 2009 by M. FUSCO
It gets under one's skin
The Line of Beauty is a 2004 Booker Prize-winning novel by Alan Hollinghurst. The book explores the tension between Nick's intimate relationship with the Feddens, in whose parties... Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2008 by Amelrode
A Dance with the Prime Minister
Fans of Alan Hollinghurst should be really pleased with this TV adaptation of his last and award-winning novel. Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2008 by Ford Ka
180 minutes of my life - gone !!
This production seems to have some very mixed reviews. With a mini-series like this, I have to watch the end once I have started. Read more
Published on 3 Sep 2007 by M. Longman
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