38/48
Coincidentally, Aidan Turner has previously filmed at Chavenage House (The Priory in Rivals)
Chronology
Follow Rupert Campbell-Black and Tony Baddingham as they have a long-standing rivalry that is coming to a head. The same location was also used to film Trenwith House in the 2015 BBC TV adaptation of Poldark.
In many ways, her work is more akin to Restoration Comedy than Carry On, with characters having more development and more inner lives than you’d expect
In the 1990s, there was Jilly Cooper’s horrific version of Riders, as television had since shunned her as ‘bonkbusters’; critics deemed Jilly Cooper’s novels dated and silly. That’s far from the truth, Cooper satirised the Cotswold upper middle class with iron wit and has always had an understanding of comedy, character and funny plots.
The changes are minor and actually open up more of the period and politics
Now Disney is coming up with RIVALS, which boasts a great cast, and the good news is that it’s a great watch, yes, it’s full of naughty moments and titties and boobies, even the occasional Willy. Its triumph, though, is that it has the budget and time to do justice to the feel and spirit of the original book.
He does a truly creditable job
Bella Maclean is brilliant in the pivotal role of Tagie and Alex Hassel does a great job as Rupert, a role that’s impossible to give because no one in history can be the character that Cooper created – part villain, part Adonis, part whiny child. The real star of this, though, is the ensemble cast of wonderful character actors Emily Atack, Danny Dyer and Katherine Parkinson, all of whom give career-best performances.
I actually liked it
The 80s soundtrack is spot on throughout and makes Rivals a real win for Disney. It’s fun, it’s frothy, but there’s a deep underpinning that elevates it above its signature film and offers hope that we’ll see a lot more of this team and this universe in the future.
