Titanic (2012)

[birdienl]

For the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, Julian Fellowes, writer of Downton Abbey, penned down a miniseries about the passengers of the famous ship. It was broadcast on ITV in 4 parts from the 25th of March and in many other countries in one or two parts last weekend. Though the series had a rather negative reception and I had my doubts after the first three episodes, in the end I have really enjoyed watching it!



The tagline of the DVD reads 'One voyage, a world of untold stories', and that truly is this miniseries summarized in one sentence. We meet a large number of both historical and fictional characters from all ranks of society who board the RMS Titanic in April 1912. The Earl of Manton and his wife had booked a trip on the Titanic for ages, but at the last moment they decide to take their sufragette daughter Georgiana with them to keep her out of trouble. Travelling second class are the Earl's solicitor John Batley and his proud Irish wife Muriel, who abhors her husband's groveling attitude towards the Earl. Electrician Jim Maloney is offered free passage on the Titanic for his whole family to start a new life in America, but his wife Mary is doubtful of this move. Italian stoker Mario Sandrini manages to get his younger brother Paulo a last-minute job as a waiter in first class. Here, Paulo meets cabin steward Annie Desmond and falls head over heels in love with her. These are only the main stories which are followed, as there is an impressive group of secondary characters.

First things first, yes, Titanic does look and feel a lot like Downton Abbey. (But no, we do not meet James and Patrick Crawley, that would've been an interesting twist!) With the same writer and taking place around the same time-period, this is no surprise. There is more, however. Both Titanic and Downton Abbey have a similar atmosphere and a lot of attention is focused on class boundaries and interactions between characters of different social ranks.  I do however think that they are not similar enough to name Titanic 'Downton-at-sea' as I've read around the Internet. For one, Downton takes place over multiple years, whereas the time passing in the Titanic miniseries is only a few days.

This leads to an important downside of Titanic. The fact that there are only a few days to establish stories and relationships, gives the series a hurried and sometimes artificial feel. This is strengthened by the large cast of characters, too large in my opinion. I understand there are a great many stories to tell about passengers of the Titanic, but when one has to make a 4 hour production, choices have to be made! Fellowes did not choose enough and in consequence, we do not really get to know his characters or care for them. The best parts of the series are those focusing on already existing relationships, such as John and Muriel Batley.

The cinematography of Titanic is gorgeous, as we've come to expect from British period productions. A great amount of attention is paid to detail, from beautiful dresses to the First Class suites, from servants uniforms to the small steerage cabins. In my humble opinion (I'm no historian, nor a Titanic fanatic), the series really gives you the feel of being on the Titanic. Especially as you meet characters from all classes and follow them to all the different places on the ship. 

The cast of Titanic consists of a great number of well-known faces from British television: Linus Roache, James Wilby, Celia Imrie and Toby Jones to name but a few. I always find it a joy to see so many familiar faces and play the 'Where-have-I-seen-this-actor-before' game! I was most impressed by the acting of Toby Jones and Maria Doyle Kennedy as John and Muriel Batley, they had great interplay. But a honorable mention can also go to the lesser known Ruth Bradley as the conflicted Mary Maloney. I really liked seeing Lyndsey Marshall again, who has become a favourite actress of mine since her role in Garrow's Law. Unfortunately, her storyline was a bit over the top in Titanic. 

In the first three episodes of the series, we meet different characters and learn of their stories before boarding the ship. At the end of each of these episodes, the ship hits the iceberg and we see the characters realize Titanic is going to sink. The fourth episode is wholly devoted to the actual sinking and how all characters try to survive and help their loved ones. I personally found this format fitting to the subject. It brought the reality of the disaster very close to me as a viewer and gave the opportunity to zoom in on each individual characters reaction to the sinking. For me, however, there was a week between the viewing of each episode and I can understand this format works less well when the series is broadcast in 1 or 2 installments.

The end of the series, when Titanic actually goes down, is shown from the viewpoint of the survivors in the lifeboat. I don't know if this was a concious choice or a means to save on CGI budget, but I found it very fitting. It brings you as a viewer close to what the survivors must have seen and felt as the Titanic disappeared beneath the sea, perhaps with their loved ones still on it. I don't necessarily need to see the actual sinking up-close to experience how much of a drama this was. I always found the way James Cameron portrayed the sinking in his 1997 Titanic too intense. The miniseries Titanic also toned down on the horror in not showing us too much of the drowned passengers when the lifeboats went back to search for survivors and I liked it this way.

All in all, though it may not become a period drama classic, Titanic was an interesting and touching tribute to the 100th anniversary of the fateful maiden voyage of RMS Titanic.






 

Comments

[florencia7.livejournal.com]

OH It sounds very interesting! I hope I'll be able to watch it one day. Thank you for heads up :)

[rissi jc (from livejournal.com)]

So glad you enjoyed this one! I agree with you about the ending - I liked that the sinking was seen from the survivors perspective. That was... interesting. I've not seen the Cameron version but it does look way over-dramatic. From one fellow non Titanic fanatic to another: I really enjoyed this film, too. In fact, I am really looking forward to seeing it on DVD - hopefully the transitions will improve a bit! =)

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

Hello Rissi! How nice to see your comment here! (How does that work, technically?)

I watched the Cameron Titanic when I was about 15 in the cinema. Actually, looking back, I think I was too young to watch such an intense movie. I was totally obsessed with it for a while, but I now think it wasn't such a great movie after all. Wisdom comes with age ;-)

[rissi jc (from livejournal.com)]

Hey! Yeah... I have never been real interested in seeing Cameron's version but I may eventually. Even if I'd originally wanted to, my mother wouldn't have allowed me to watch it that young, but then, I survived. =) All in all, this version was memorable and next trip to Wal*Mart, I just may buy it on the combo pack. (Oh! Technical things are always... challenging, right!? ;D I am able to log in here through my Google account, so that is great.)