18/34
Coincidentally, Aidan Turner had previously filmed at Chavenage House (Priory in Rivals)
Story
It follows Rupert Campbell-Black and Tony Baddingham as they have a long-running rivalry that comes to a head. The same filming location was also used to portray Trenwith House in the 2015 BBC TV adaptation of Poldark. There was an appalling version of Jilly Cooper’s Riders in the 1990s, which has since been shunned by TV ' bonkbusters' critics feel Jilly Cooper’s novels were dated and silly.
But the triumph is that it has the budget and time to match the feel and spirit of the original book
This is far from the truth, Cooper satirizes the upper middle class of the Cotswolds with an iron wit and has always understood comedy, characters and entertaining plots. In many ways her work was more like Restoration Comedy than Carry On, with characters that were more developed and had more inner life than you might expect. Now comes RIVALS from Disney which boasts an all star cast and the good news is it’s a great watch, yes it’s full of naughty moments, boobs and asses, even the occasional Willy.
He is doing a really meritorious job
The changes are small and actually open up the period and politics more. Bella Maclean is great in the central role of Tagie and Alex Hassel does a great job as Rupert, a role that cannot be cast because no one in history can be that character. that Cooper created – part villain, part Adonis, part whiny child.
Really liked it
But the real star is the ensemble of brilliant character actors Emily Atack, Danny Dyer, Katherine Parkinson who give career best performances. The 80s soundtrack is on point and makes Rivals a real triumph for Disney. It’s fun, it’s frothy, but it has a deeper undertone that elevates it above a feature film and offers hope that we’ll see a lot more from this team and this universe in the future.
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