Being hearing impaired, I need captions so I can follow what is being said. I'm not sure when the DVD was released or where and when I acquired it, but as this was a fairly recent series it would not have been too much to expect it to come with captions. The loud music on the sound track swelling every time anything dramatic was happening ruined any chance that I might have had of catching the words. As more people age and their hearing diminishes, filmmakers need to be aware that background music drowns out dialog. I kept having to ajdust the sound between barely audible speech and blasting brass instruments.
The acting was pure soap opera. The moment Lea Thompson's character came across the dark haired photographer he could have had 'vile seducer' tattooed on his forehead. Although Lea Thompson aged beautifully during the saga, no one else did until the very end.
Overall, the men were seducers, bullies and drunks and the women were victims or just plain selfish and no one was more selfish than the lead character. It might have lent the story more credibility if the noble doctor whom she married to give her child a name had been played by a less handsome man than John Shea. What were his reasons for marrying her anyway. Was he a masochist who reveled in noble sacrifice? The pacing was also very uneven and galloped along, especially at the end where events of "ten years later" had less than two minutes of screen time. Stories were begun and dropped. Was the heroine in prison after the HUAC hearings? What happened to Pearson her bullying son in law? Why did she never return to where she had been raised? The sound bite pacing indicated that the film was adapted from a book, which maybe I should try and find.
The acting was pure soap opera. The moment Lea Thompson's character came across the dark haired photographer he could have had 'vile seducer' tattooed on his forehead. Although Lea Thompson aged beautifully during the saga, no one else did until the very end.
Overall, the men were seducers, bullies and drunks and the women were victims or just plain selfish and no one was more selfish than the lead character. It might have lent the story more credibility if the noble doctor whom she married to give her child a name had been played by a less handsome man than John Shea. What were his reasons for marrying her anyway. Was he a masochist who reveled in noble sacrifice? The pacing was also very uneven and galloped along, especially at the end where events of "ten years later" had less than two minutes of screen time. Stories were begun and dropped. Was the heroine in prison after the HUAC hearings? What happened to Pearson her bullying son in law? Why did she never return to where she had been raised? The sound bite pacing indicated that the film was adapted from a book, which maybe I should try and find.