Wuthering Heights - 2009 ***

I am a huge fan of the Laurence Olivier version of this story. Therefore any tv drama of this was going to be closely compared to it. I thought this was a sumptuous drama and incredibly well done. Tom Hardy is a very versatile actor and puts his all into the role of Heathcliff who falls desperately in love with wild and carefree Cathy (played by his wife to be Charlotte Reilly). Certain parts of this were changed and I was disappointed (yet again comparing it to the 1939s version) because one of the most potent parts of the story was switched around, leaving me feeling a bit hollow. *SPOILERS* When Cathy dies in the book, Heathcliff is by her side, but in this version he is loitering outside in the garden without knowing what is going on. And also, when Heathcliff dies in the earlier film, he does so because of ill health and a broken heart, here he goes crazy and shoots himself. I can't deny that the acting was very good but for continuity and screenplay I have to side with the 1930s film.

A Royal Affair - 2012 **** 1/2

What a sumptuous and indulgent film about someone who I'm ashamed to say I had never heard of until now - Caroline Mathilde, a British princess who gets married to her Danish cousin Christian who is mentally ill. A bit like Charles and Diana, and Lady Georgina, Caroline is desperately unhappy in the marriage, with her husband's bizarre moods, and feels spurned when he practically refuses to come to her bed chamber. Christian soon gets a new Royal Physician named Johann whom he trusts unconditionally. He soon becomes close to Caroline, sharing in her love of enlightenment literature and views of the peasants and they are before long embarking in a passionate affair leading to her becoming pregnant. The results for all are devastating.
Amazing film with a wonderfully talented cast. One of the best films of 2012 in my opinion.