As Good As It Gets

A Disappointing Continuation

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I think it's a little sad that people approach this charming mini-series expecting familiar Anna Karenina players, dialogue and scenery. I don't think the creators ever intended that. It exudes charm, wit and passion from the very start, but in its own way. Sure, matching the characters with their Tolstoy counterparts is entertaining, but this modern story stands alone. The character portrayals are engaging and the adaptation of the plot accessible to everyone. The Australian brand humour is masterful and draws well on multiple comedians in the cast. Celia Pacquola as Dolly is especially rewarding. Sarah Snook in the lead role of Anna is a revelation. Such a virtuoso! She is definitely someone to watch out for (go ahead and put her on your watch list). Even the creepy and sleazy Skeet, whom we can't help but dislike (or maybe that is just me) plays the role so you want to see the next creepy thing he'll do. The only let down for me was the music. Skeet is a musician / mixer. The sounds coming from his group during the show, and sometimes used as interlude music, is a slow wailing death. All in all it's a funny and tragic love story with a ton of story line and characters to keep you laughing, frowning and perplexed by the actions of seemingly sensible people who will become your friends. I guarantee you'll miss these friends after the final episode.

The review I just read suggests that I watched a different mini-series. However, that is not so. The difference of opinion, fortunately, is just that. Some people like me liked it, others like the person who gave it two stars obviously did not. It is not high-brow, but it is interesting and entertaining, and at least to me, that's enough. Sarah Snook deserves good scripts, and this one probably did not stretch her. Worth a look and a listen because some of the music is very interesting, and I found the emotional tension quite realistic. The irrational behaviours exhibited by several of the characters were believable, and not unlike what I have seen in real life. Not all productions are going to be highly cerebral, and that is alright because sometimes it is entertaining to just watch, not think too much, and enjoy watching reasonable actors and actresses.

I am not really sure how true to the famous novel this telling is. I have never read the book. Viewing this with no pre conceived notions I find it very enjoyable. The main characters are very appealing visually and you can't help connecting emotionally. Kitty and Anna are both beautiful in totally different ways and both flawed and frustrating in different ways as well. At times I found myself rooting for each of them and other times wishing to shake them for their self centerness and foolishness. Either way they are compulsively watchable, light up the screen. These two actresses will go far I am sure. Overall it is a very talented cast. All of the supporting cast turn in fine performances, are very well written. Perhaps Kitty's parents characters are a bit lightly drawn. I love this series and commend all involved. Good TV viewing.

Taking the story of a classic like Anna Karenina is at once an appealing notion, rather like reworking Shakespeare in a modern version, and a way to see it again. The issue here is that the revision is just one story of the great novel; it's an adaptation of all the previous film versions and therefore dispenses with the other more interesting material in the novel to leave only the melodramatic and increasingly psychotic romance.What is shown in the TV series is typical in contemporary styling: the usual camera angles, the settings in homes and airports, with standard everyday dialog. The dialog in this version has a soap opera quality, like Neighbors in its banality and ordinariness. Some dialog is clumsy and akin to adolescent expression in its deliberate use of image and metaphor but poorly written and the overall effect is inept. The voice over narrator is less accomplished, both unnecessary and questions the purpose of the drama as it fills in the back story of all the characters.This is a stale and cliché borne infested production which has meretriciously yoked a great book in order to market itself and thereby disguise its defects and lack of artistic value. It didn't need a Russian novel at all; the old book serves no use at all because this is simply a modern adultery story which is really just day-time soap opera. The Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov had a Russian word for this: poshlost, which in English means, kitsch, pretentious rubbish.