richard-693 Review of The Way We Live Now

The Way We Live Now (2001)

Brilliant study of a promoter and his victims, with some surprises.

[10/10 · 22 April 2005]

Anthony Trollope wrote the novel, but the TV mini-series was adapted by the brilliant Andrew Davies (also Pride and Prejudice). The book is a deep and witty dissection of the financial world of get-rich-quick. The mini-series catches Trollope's wit and lets us see what we could only imagine in the book. Few adaptations of classic fiction came off better than this one...maybe this is the best ever. The characters and themes are as contemporary as any story of financial disaster in the Wall Street Journal. Like MACBETH, THE WAY could successfully be set in modern times because it is a modern story; a timeless story. In this production, the sets, costumes, horses and trappings of London in the 1870's enrich the story. We watch THE WAY often and every showing reveals details we missed, but which delight.