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Reviews
Byron (2003)
poet as chameleon
Let me start by stating that I've read most of Byron's letters, a number of biographies as well as his poetry. The screenwriter, whose work on adapting Persuasion I liked very much, did well by the conflicted, contradictory character of the "bad, mad and dangerous to know" Byron. The script drew on the title characters own works, letting him speak what he wrote - and he was a marvelous letter writer, much better than he was a poet. This film was much more faithful to the facts than the average biopic - frighteningly so, given what it shows about Byron's scandalous character and life.
Jonny Lee Miller, although obviously older than the character he portrays, gives us the whole chameleon, the demure new star in the writing establishment, the would be politician, the society "bad boy". Witness the poet with his hair up in curlers for a new side to the Byron everyone thinks they know. My ideal actor for the part would have been the young Robert Vaughn, but Miller gives us the genuine pain in the ass quality the part needs.
What particularly interested me in this version was what got left out. Probably the most famous part of the Byron story is the summer he spent with Shelley and his menage, which resulted in the publication of "Frankenstein." It has been amply treated elsewhere, in the excellent "Bride of Frankenstein," Ken Russell's god-awful "Gothic", and the even worse "Haunted Summer". The screenwriters chose to leave it out, concentrating instead on the debacle of Byron's marriage and his final redeeming attempt to assist the cause of Greek liberation from the Turks.
In between these two was the other major part of Byron's life, the many years he spent in Italy. While the scandalous parts were shown, it might have been interesting to show something of his attempts to help liberate Italy from the Austrians, which led him ultimately to his death in Greece.
Overall, though, I found this movie an absorbing account of a life ill-spent, full of fine acting in all the minor parts. I'm not sure, however, exactly how it would work to someone without a basic knowledge of the Byron saga, in all its deplorable, lunatic, and muddled variety. The life of Byron simply doesn't lend itself to smooth storytelling with a lot of sexy bits.
The Return of the Psammead (1993)
Has its moments, but suffers from story
E. Nesbit isn't a household name in the United States. Yet in the Edwardian period, she wrote a great many books, both for adults and children. It is those she wrote for children that have endured. C. S. Lewis was a great admirer of hers, and Nesbit's influence is clear in his much-loved Narnia books.
I saw this film under the American title "Return of the Sand Fairy" on television. Unlike "Five Children and It" (the American "The Sand Fairy", "Return of the Psammead" was not based on a novel by E. Nesbit, and it shows. Although Nesbit's works are old-fashioned, she was funny and understood how to write to children. Her children get into plenty of entertaining trouble, often with the best intentions.
So it is here. The Psammead (sammy-ad) lives in a sandpit and grants wishes. He's a charming creature, looking much like the original illustrations, and when whining and complaining is just right. Francis Wright voices him superbly. The four children are not obtrusively modern, and the adult parts are all Nesbit stock characters, difficult aunt, dreadful housekeeper, friendly cook and nanny.
My main problem with "Return of the Psammead" was in one episode (spoiler) in which one of the children wishes to go to the future. It simply did not fit the rest of the story. The future, as the old cliché has it, is now. E. Nesbit's characters do go into the future, but not like that. I have to say I didn't like the "wishing is good" song at the end. After the Psammead constantly tells the children to think before they wish, and that the wishes always backfire, it did not work at all.
"Five Children and It" does have a sequel: "The Phoenix and the Carpet" that is as good or better. Invented sequels such as this rarely work, and I'm sorry to say this is no exception.