The Moth (1997– ) User Reviews

Amazing local drama

[saiyanloveruk16 · 9 November 2004]

Being from Catherine Cookson land i am a bit biased to promote the television works of the great lady's novels...but this one surpassed any of the previous adaption i had seen.

The moth is a tale of love across the classes, featuring Robert Bradley(Jack Davenport), a working class carpenter working in the shipyards on the Tyne, (NOTE: The Shipyard used is no more than three miles from my house), Sarah Thorman(Juliet Aubrey), an upper class woman with a seemingly mad sister, who is in fact devastatingly vulnerable and a mere child in a woman's body.

The development of the separate stories which eventually culminate in Robert being accused of bedding his cousin and fathering her child, and Sarah's mother dieing, leaving her to cope with failing finances and keeping a household going under the constant glare of her father and then her brother.

When the two main characters finally end up in close contact with one another, there is a spark from the very beginning, but it is a spark Sarah tries hard to hide for the sake of her reputation and her sister, but eventually Robert making her see how badly the family home is failing brings her to her senses and makes her fall in love with him...

All in all...a beautiful piece...check it out.

Also Jack Davenport(a broad southerner) taking on a Geordie accent...hilarious.

******** (out of 10)

Brilliant.

[bruce-mccaskey · 10/10 · 3 January 2015]

For anyone interested in the true nature of men and women, this is an invaluable resource.

In the same way that GWTW can be watched to get a picture of true masculine energy in Captain Butler, the character of Robert Bradley in this movie shows how a dominant alpha male looks, acts, and sounds who is also capable of great tenderness and strength of character.

Sarah exemplifies strong, assertive, very feminine womanhood. I watched the movie several times over, wanting to be just like Robert and wanting to find a woman like Sarah.

All the supporting cast is excellent as well. Strong characterization; extremely plausible events and sets and props; I felt like I got into a time machine and traveled to 1913 England. The heroes and villains are entirely believable. This is in my top 10 favorite movies of all time now.

I stumbled across this movie and was shocked at how good it is. Being American, I had never even heard of Cookson. She is practically unknown in the USA, compared to her success in the UK.

I don't want to give anything away here; I will say that this movie is a perfect example of the John Sebastian lyric: "makes you feel happy like an old-time movie". If you like Jane Austen, you will like Cookson.

Great romantic drama!! A must see!

[marcyg68 · 10/10 · 18 February 2001]

This is an adaptation of the Catherine Cookson novel and stars Jack Davenport ("The Talented Mr. Ripley") and Juliet Aubrey ("Middlemarch"). Jacks plays Robert Bradley, a poor carpenter who falls in love with the daughter (Aubrey) of his affluent employer. Class differences and family obligations stand in their way in this tale based in 1940s England. Will their love prevail? See for yourselves! It is a romantic story of class conflict, love, hatred, obsession and courage.

Great Story

[davyd-02237 · 9/10 · 9 February 2021]

For the TV bods to reduce an entire Catherine Cookson novel to under 3 hours takes some doing. This one has a really good cast that fits together well. the "god fearing Church goer", who is as vile in private life as anyone, the equally vile "Thurman" (lives in a large house, never worked a day in his life) but can afford to strut around as though he owns millions. Enter then the young man with a skill in carpentry who works for both but ends up doing odd jobs at "the big house", saves the life of "the moth", her elder sister ultimately falls for him but given he owns nothing it cant go anywhere, can it? this really is well worth watching and unlike the TV of today, thankfully there is little swearing or blasphemy, theres no one of the LGBT brigade and a really interesting plot and storyline - catch this one, I dont think you will be disappointed

Nostalgic viewing

[Adamssausage · 10/10 · 29 February 2016]

Back to the Future or Forward to the Past? Watching this oldie on the Drama channel in 2016, the main thing that struck me was how totally gorgeous and drop dead sexy Jack Davenport was in 1997! So I'm shallow, so what. A typical Catherine Cookson story of love triumphing over adversity, and a great way to pass a winter Sunday afternoon.

In this era of fast cutting and flashy cinematography that makes your head spin and eyes hurt, it is a delight to watch a tale with a beginning a middle and an end, characters who seem real if a little stereotyped (it's Catherine Cookson after all), and a plot full of heroes and villains which is pure escapism and doesn't require a PhD in Mumble-Deciphering or asking what the heck is going on. It isn't too challenging, giving us plenty of time to admire Jack's dreamily expressive eyes and ...other attractions. Made me forget my troubles for a couple of hours and that's worth ten stars for me.

Exemplary Catherine Cookson adaptation

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 20 January 2018]

THE MOTH is an extraordinarily good Granada TV movie of 1997 and an adaptation of the Catherine Cookson novel of the same name. It stars Jack Davenport in his best role as a hard-working carpenter who gets involves in the usual romantic shenanigans and class battles in the north of the England at the turn of the 20th century. These Granada Cookson adaptations were remarkably good and THE MOTH is no exception. The running time of two and a half hours absolutely flies past and the story draws you from the very beginning. The characters are not so much characters as real people who seem to live and breathe off the screen. The film is loaded down with realism and starkly depressing moments which really put across the difficulties and struggles of those living during the era, but somehow it's never depressing, just moving. The romantic scenes aren't overdone and somehow the sentimentality is worthwhile given the oppression the characters face. In support, David Bradley does a dry run for his later turns as Filch and Walder Frey, Leslie Schofield is the perfect face for the era, Rupert Penry-Jones a real cad, and Juliet Aubrey particularly impressive as the strong-willed young woman and object of Davenport's affection.

UGH! For romance fans only

[whatsaligger · 5/10 · 26 June 2004]

If it were not for Jack Davenport (Shallow? YES, but I am being honest) I would NOT have watched all 150 minutes of this. There were times when I cringed.

*** SPOILERS? ***

The 'development' of the romance between Robert and Sarah seemed abrupt to me. She pretty much was a cold fish towards him and suddenly it's all warm.

Hm... As for Robert, he seemed pretty playboy-ish with Nancy and then becomes the epitome of the decent, hardworking 'common' man. Hm...(again)

This is for C. Cookson, romantic schmaltz and J. Davenport fans only... Even that's stretching it... But this is one person's opinion only...

Beautiful 90s drama!

[deehee19 · 2 December 2020]

They don't make it like this anymore! Yes predictable storytelling maybe (as is most of Catherine Cookson's work), but performed and directed in the most heartwarming, passionate and beautiful ways. From the acting to the dialogues, this piece of drama truly feels like it captured a bygone era. Nothing fancy about the drama's cinematography, it's just pure rustic 90s perfection. Davenport was sublime in this, he was truly beautiful back then. He played a working class lad so well, much different to what he usually plays.