Stars: Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington, Virginia McKenna, Jennifer Ehle, Tara Fitzgerald

Director: Peter Hall

Summary: War-time drama based on the novel by Mary Wesley which follows the triumphs and tragedies of a large family. The summer of 1939 finds a couple and their niece preparing for a visit to Cornwall to visit other nieces and nephews.

Based on the novel by Mary Wesley, THE CAMOMILE LAWN is set in Cornwall in August 1939, the eve of the Second World War.This series opens at a summer gathering of the sprawling Cuthbertson family in the idyllic countryside, a reunion darkened by the gathering clouds of WWII. At turns dramatic, gossipy, comedic, and tragic, the series follows the young Cuthbertson cousins as their lives are torn asunder by the traumas of the war and also by their sexual experiences.

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Reviewed by: PINEBED
Posted on November 13, 2006 9:53 PM

FANTASTIC MY KIND OF MOVIE TO CURL UP IN FROUNT OF THE FIRE WTH.

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Adapted from the novel by Mary Wesley, The Camomile Lawnproved one of Channel Four's most successful dramas, telling an intricate story set during World War II and over two days in 1984. In this portrait of the Home Front in Cornwall and London in the Blitz, the titular lawn becomes a symbol for halcyon pre-war days, and also for a lost innocence on a personal level. For this is very much about growing up and sex, including rape and child abuse (both handled tactfully, mainly in dialogue), adulatory, ménage á trois, bisexuality and rampant promiscuity. The attitudes, from the war-damaged, nihilistic Oliver, (a powerfully charismatic Toby Stephens) to the mercenary Calypso (an incendiary Jennifer Ehle), and some individual scenes, shock in their very matter-of-factness. What could be salacious soap is leavened by a comic touch, intensified by tragedy and elevated to intensely moving drama during its final half hour set around a funeral in 1984. Generally excellent production values make the best of the television budget, and there are outstanding performances by a large cast including Felicity Kendal and Paul Eddington (reunited from The Good Life), Tara Fitzgerald in her first starring role, and especially Rebecca Hall as Sophy.

On the DVD: The four episodes are presented on two discs, with a total running time of approximately four hours 22 minutes. There are no special features of any sort. The picture is standard television 4:3, and while marginally better than VHS has a slight softness, with occasional after-images to shots with moving lights betraying that the series was made on video rather than film. Some scenes are rather grainy and there is the occasion brief instance of MPEG artifacting. The sound is stereo and appears to have been remixed from mono, some elements such as the music remaining in mono, while some sound effects are stereo. --Gary S Dalkin

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1992
Release Date:	April 14, 2003
Runtime:	258 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C C D 9670
Label:	Channel 4
Keywords:	Two, General, Lawn, Tv, Drama, Camomile, Discs
Genre:	Drama