The Camomile Lawn (1992) User Reviews

Sex and the Second World War

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 21 December 2010]

When this series first aired in 1992 it was considered rather racy due to the characters' unconventional attitude to sex and the handful of nude scenes now it seems far less shocking. The story is told in flashback as the characters head to a funeral in west Cornwall. On the way they reminisce about their time together around the time of the Second World War. We are introduced to them as they enjoy one last summer together in Cornwall before the war. Once the war starts Polly and Calypso head to London and young Sophy is sent to a boarding school. Their love lives are unconventional to say the least Calypso is determined to marry a rich man but when she does she is more than happy to take other lovers, Polly can't decide which twin she wants to be with so has both and Helena has an affair with Jewish refugee Max while her husband Richard is left with Max's wife.

This might sound like the plot from a particularly melodramatic soap opera but thankfully it doesn't feel like that due to the excellent acting from Felicity Kendal, Tara Fitzgerald, Jennifer Ehle and Rebecca Hall as Helena, Polly, Calypso and Sophy and Paul Eddington as Richard. As it is set during the war there is a constant feeling that characters could die and at least one is killed, although we obviously know that certain characters will survive as we have seen them in the present. I liked how the story was presented in flashback as the surviving characters told their story to the next generation on the way to the funeral; this somehow gave it a greater degree of believability perhaps because their reaction to hearing the story mirrored the viewers.

An Unusual WWII Drama

[hjmsia49 · 8/10 · 12 July 2006]

Those of us who lived through WWII may be taken aback by the characters in this film which are at odds with our impressions of the staid Brits during that era. The assertion that some of their bizarre conduct was a result of the war is not totally convincing. The cast is uniformly excellent especially Felicity Kendal as Helene and Rebecca Hall as a young Sophy. Oliver Cotten was convincing as the lecherous Max although I felt his German tirades were a bit overdone. Those of us who have only seen Jennifer Ehle in "Pride and Prejudice" will be very surprised at her radically different portrayal of the amoral young Calypso. I do feel that some of the nudity and graphic language was gratuitous and prevented the film from reaching the larger audience it deserved. I found a certain irony in the beginning and end of the film. In the opening scenes, young Oliver and young Sophy discuss the evils of fascism and in the final scene old Oliver and old Sophy drive away in a Volkswagon Beetle. Their long delayed reunion had a striking similarity to that of Lionel and Jean in "As Time Goes By." The editing of only a few scenes would have given greater circulation to the film.

Nudity, smut and depravity—what's not to like?

[The_late_Buddy_Ryan · 8/10 · 5 September 2013]

With a strong cast headed by two of the stars of the Britcom classic "Good Neighbors" and a rash of complaints from Netflix members about nudity, "smut" and depravity, this '92 UK series seemed like a sureshot. Based on a novel by the renegade daughter of an old-school military family, it's a brisk, gossipy account of the martial, marital and extramarital adventures of an extended family of cousins in the early years of WW II. The Martha Stuarty title might be misleading; the lawn in question adjoins a cliffside house in Cornwall that belongs to most of the other characters' Aunt Helena (Felicity Kendal!), the exasperated wife of Uncle Richard (Paul Eddington!), a cranky, appeasement-minded, one-legged veteran of "the last show" (WW I). Also in residence is Sophy (an amazing debut performance by 11-year-old Rebecca Hall), a sensitive younger cousin who's being raised, haphazardly, by Richard and Helena. It's true that some of the characters, in their youthful self-involvement, can be a bit much (notably flashy, posh-voiced Calypso, a nice juicy part for Jennifer Ehle), but the series is consistently involving and occasionally quite moving. Paul Eddington totally nails a scene in which Richard, portrayed as a squawking grotesque till then, discusses sex and marriage with Calypso in a sweetly unguarded way; the last episode, set in the 1970s—by which time adorable Sophy has grown up to be a cranky Claire Bloom—is watchable but disappointing.

The Second World War changes Middle Class behaviour and mores.

[Paddy-49 · 9 November 2004]

This is an exceptional adaptation of a very good novel. Virtually nothing is changed from the original and the story is beautifully told. Whilst it is not really necessary to place this very accessible saga in the context of more acknowledged works of art about the effects of the War on society (e.g. 'Brideshead Revisited') it does stand up well even in such illustrious company.

In just a few years attitudes, morals, priorities and sensitivities change beyond recognition for this appealing family group. A rather self-satisfied and indulgent family is first rocked by the effects of the Spanish Civil War (on Oliver). Then in rapid succession, as the effects of the Second World War take their grip, we get a believable series of events which make a modern morality tale.

There is adultery; pedophilia; under age sex; bereavement; racial prejudice; a 'marriage' with two fathers and one mother; homosexuality; a manslaughter; a 'flasher'; sentimentality; casual sex; women's liberation; alcoholism; rape… Put like this, of course, its sounds improbable and sensational but in fact it is wholly believable.

The women are the stronger characters and it is they who get their act together best to survive the war. Tara Fitzgerald's Polly is the classic example – a brilliant, pragmatic, practical and fabulously desirable woman who decides for herself what is right and brokes no argument. Her secret war work is clearly significant – but she is equally adept at managing her unconventional private life - where she begins a relationship (which endures) with both of a set of twins each of whom fathers one of her children. Jennifer Eale's 'Calypso' is no less determined – although her ambition (to marry a rich man) is selfish and she remains self-centered throughout. But there is honesty in her chosen lifestyle which is no less appealing than that of Polly. The young Sophy (Rebecca Hall) is again a strongly painted character who grows up rather too quickly as a result of the war. In the book this leads to a deflowering by the old goat Max Erstweiler when she is around 14 – although the constraint of the TV adaptation do not (quite) allow this to be seen. Helena (Felicity Kendal), wife of the dull and pompous Richard, also breaks free in war conditions and Max shows her that life need not end at 40 – with satisfying results for them both.

Although the men in the story are rather weaker than the women there are some touching vignettes and good performances from Paul Eddington (as Richard) and others. I can unhesitating recommend the DVD to anyone interested in the social changes of the Second World War in England.

Excellent

[eastbergholt2002 · 9/10 · 5 June 2006]

The Camomile Lawn is one of my favorite British TV adaptations. It's based on a book by Mary Wesley, and was first shown in 1992. The director is Sir Peter Hall who founded both the National Theatre and the RSC. There are five episodes and it's compulsive viewing.

It's a family drama set during the early years of World War II. In the last episode the characters meet at a funeral thirty years later, giving it similarities to the Big Chill. The main characters are seven cousins / friends who spend part of their summers in Cornwall at the home of Aunt Helena (Felicity Kendall) and Uncle Richard (Paul Eddington). The story begins in August 1939, before the Germans invade Poland. The friends, are mostly 18 or 19 and join the war effort when war is declared. The action then moves to London during the Blitz. The young cast all have an abundance of energy and charisma, especially Jennifer Ehle (Young Calypso), Tara Fitzgerald (Young Polly)and Rebecca Hall (Young Sophy).

Philip Larkin famously said that sexual intercourse began in 1963, but he needed to get out more. With death all around them, the lead characters live for today and take a hedonistic approach to sex and booze. As the older Polly says (Virginia McKenna) "it was a happy time."

Mary Wesley creates strong female characters who all seem wise, pragmatic and fun. The men mostly seem flawed and weak in some way. They are either dim-witted, obsessed with sex or confused about what they want. Eddington (Uncle Richard) is regarded by his family as something of a joke. Toby Stephens (Young Oliver) plays a left wing idealist who serves in the Spanish Civil War, lusts after Jennifer Ehle and complains about spending his army career running away from the Germans. Oliver Cotton (Max) plays a violinist who escapes from the clutches of the Nazis in Vienna and chases after the entire female cast.

In Episode Five we meet older versions of the characters, including: Oliver (Richard Johnson), Sophy (Claire Bloom) and Calypso (Rosemary Harris)who talk about their past. Overall, it's fun, fast paced, beautifully written and brilliantly directed.

Compulsively watchable and great fun

[notmicro · 9/10 · 4 October 2004]

I'd been curious for years to see this thing, both because of the very interesting actors, and the period setting. Now I've just watched the British DVD, and found that its absolutely brilliantly done, and compulsively watchable. Its basically the saga of an "extended family" from 1939 to 1984, focusing on the females - all of them quite lively, and several of whom have luckily married into money. The characters are admittedly somewhat shallow and self-centered, but nevertheless fascinating. The acting and direction are so wonderful, and the story is so intriguing and amusing, that it all just flies by, leaving you wanting more. I suspect that this is one of those rare times when the "film-version" improves on the original book. Kudos to Channel 4 for having successfully tackled another edgy piece of material.

It takes some time getting accustomed to the affected and presumably somewhat archaic upper-middle-class accents assumed by some of the actors. The occasionally plummy and arch dialog, particularly between Calypso and Oliver, started to remind me strongly of watching Rex Harrison and his wives elegantly sniping at each other in "Blithe Spirit (1945)". As an American this blows right by me; I can only guess that, for the UK audience, the accents will place the characters very firmly in time, place, and class.

Trivia note: young Sophy is played by Rebecca Hall, who is the daughter of the director Peter Hall. She turns in an amazing performance.

B4 BBC/TV went full aj ender

[Skylightmovies · 7/10 · 9 August 2021]

Apart from agatha christie , wesley offers us a glimpse into privileged relatives and relations; however here we find they are no different to anyone else. What goes on behind closed doors stays there and is tolerated until time has passed and care of reputation has long since been discarded.

The sensitive thoughtful ones gaslight themselves into tolerating abominations for fear of shunning and isolation. Loneliness in a large family is a tragedy and trauma bonding ensures there is little wholesome joy to be lived elsewhere.

Wesley speaks from experience; the intertwining stories, coloured with precise expressions and intimate attitudes, provide the familial glue of curiosity that keeps these people loyal after living decades apart. The keep going stoicism saw them through the confusion of Churchill's war and out the other side into as fulfilling a life they could muster.

The lack of self pity is astounding in view of today's collapsing of backbones everywhere . People made do and used the hand with which they were dealt. They did not depend on big gov to 'fix things' so they could go back to normal. Normal was gone . Normal was the last summer on the Camomile Lawn, before the barbed wire, before the death of the flasher, before London homes were abandoned ,unlocked and bombed.

And this was not only the wealthy. Class superiority melted away as everyone chipped in to the new great war. Teamwork created tolerance. We see many depictions of the poor, paid to fight and die in wars that the elite engineer, but these retrospectives do not depict the willing sacrifices and resourcefulness of the citizens , committed to assist their neighbour.

The characters in this story are well written, realistic, self deluding at times, naive and stubborn. The sharp screen play and razor like comedic edits sympathize with the difficult choices and risky chances that challenge this troupe. It makes for addictive viewing as particular prose and nuanced tones narrate a stimulating spicy tale. 90's audiences were not idiots and the hard sell of degenerate posh people could not work without humour and an excellent wordsmith. Seeing this after 30 years in the worldwide autistic indoctrination system - school/uni - would be confusing and the pc judging emotionally fearful robots of today ''would not get it''.

So it is with great pleasure that I found this series again after it's first outing. The matrix hold was tightening its grasp on me and I could not understand the apparent 'coldness' of the cast and what the hell was going on with who. It seemed contrived to sell new big faces and the miracles of surgery with clever camera angles for sexual Channel Four titillation, Kendal thrown in to perplex devoted country gardeners.

But the selected ones - Stephens, Adams, Ehle, Fitzgerald and Hall stayed true to the caricatures on which they were based and by the end of the series, one cannot help but forgive, understand and even agree with the choices they made through their turbulent times, a truism about families who protect, understand and will support their flawed loved ones when the time comes.

Compulsive viewing - watch it again and again

[TheEnglishman · 10/10 · 21 January 2006]

A story about a family (and associated friends) where most of the characters are either selfish or inadequate seems an unlikely hit, but I continue to find this one of my favorite winter evening viewings. The story is told, as in the book, with flash-forwards that help crystallize your opinions of the characters and their motivations. With promiscuous behavior throughout, various unconventional relationships (Polly and the twins, Max and his town wife/country wife etc), it would have been all too easy for the series to dissolve into an orgy of explicit sex; this was, after all, made by Channel 4, who can teach HBO a thing or too about the subject! It runs along a pace, and as each episode ends, the temptation to just press play and watch the next is strong.

The performances are wonderful. I loved Felicity Kendall as the bad-tempered matriarch in the flash-forwards. Jennifer Ehle is, of course, delectable, and completely gorgeous, and acts the pants off everyone. Her accent is a wonderful mids-40s upper-class English, taken straight from Brief Encounter and the like. I didn't realize until today that she was born in North Carolina, I had her marked an English rose! Tara Fitzgerald plays Polly, the most likable character, a strong, self-minded and tolerant person. The male characters are weaker, but Oliver Cotton and the late Paul Eddington make the best of the material they're given.

The production is great - period detail is excellent, although perhaps the grimness of war on the Home Front is not given enough emphasis. However, these are privileged people, they would have had it better than the masses simply because they had more to start with.

You can watch this series over and over, like rereading a favorite book.

A perfect TV world to lose yourself in.

[jjparish · 10/10 · 13 June 2020]

I read the book first and i have to say this series is so true to it. In this rotten PC age its so nice to delve into a past that is poignant and patriotic. A past where the english did their bit. And just brilliant performances from jenifer ehle, tara fitzgerald and rebecca hall. The depth of the acting pool on view here is huge. Its gloriously anti-woke and much the better for it. For example if you love female nudity like me, you will love this. I also thought the back and forth between the modern day and WW2 was brilliantly done.

Shallow, Selfish and Pointless

[wz-37217 · 2/10 · 14 February 2022]

I watched the whole boring thing just to see what happened to Sophy, the only bearable one. I guess we're supposed to like these people because they have posh accents and lots of money, but they were all just insufferable. One woman sneers at her war damaged husband for having lost a leg, Polly uses and discards men, "Like a sailor at a brothel" and Oliver is unfailingly crude without wit.

The worst part is our main character Calypso, played by Jennifer Ehle with her small, smug mouth pursed like a disapproving schoolmarm and the loudest, harshest voice in acting. The director has tried to make Ehle and her sexy with lots of nude scenes but I'm not sure it helps much.

Throw in a pedophile who we're supposed to find charming and the whole thing is just ugly and humorless.

I once read that when the American soldiers returned from the war they said the English girls were the easiest in all of Europe and I suppose it might be true, if sad,

WWII Drama - I LOVE IT!

[dawn-sloan · 2 June 2005]

I think WWII dramas are very romantic and I love this series! When it was first broadcast on Channel Four I couldn't wait to see it every week. Aside from the brilliant acting by everyone concerned, the story lines are excellent, enough to keep you involved, but not too complicated and not done in an "arty" way. Also the characters are interesting and events are wholly believable. You really do start caring about the characters involved.

I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it, also it gives younger people who weren't around during WWII a little taste of what it must have been like. The costumes and music are lovely too.

So, if you fancy a trip down memory lane and want an interesting and engaging story with likable characters, then you can't go wrong with this one! I get this video out on rainy days when I feel like a few hours of relaxation. Enjoy!

Were We Watching the Same Show?

[lindasusanstrang · 1/10 · 25 April 2022]

I simply cannot understand how anyone has given 10 stars to this horrifically bad show. I'd give negative stars if that were an option!

In spite of a cast of really talented actors, the characters come off as superficial, selfish, unlikeable and completely unbelievable. Why would anyone care about where their stories led them? Why would anyone care about the relationships when not one of them was based in any sense of genuine emotional connection? Plot device after plot device in place of any real emotion.

Whether mystery or history, the Brits have been making the best TV series in decades, but this series is incomprehensible. I think perhaps the popularity at the time of original airing was due to the shock value of the gratuitous nudity, making it seem very avant garde and ahead of its time. Now. It's just an embarrassment. This was the worst show I have ever watched.

Stylized, but oh-so stylish!

[Stanton_North · 11 May 2004]

Unforgettable adaptation of Mary Wesley's novel about a social circle in WWII - featuring affairs, incest and wife-swapping: "an immensely happy time", says one of the women, of the Blitz. Yet the series is far from tawdry. Like Calypso - the character everyone remembers - The Camomile Lawn is gorgeous to watch; glamorous; obsessed with sex; but slowly proves to have hidden depths and a strong, if unconventional, morality. Jennifer Ehle proves herself one of the sexiest figures to have been seen on screen, and a classic and classy actress to boot.

Atrocious

[trpdean · 1/10 · 21 April 2007]

This is one of the more propagandistic things you'll ever see - and within moments you can rat out the way the characters, situations will go - if the character/situation is self-pitying, libertine, atheist, self-absorbed, licentious - he/she is loved. If disciplined, restrained, religious, frankly patriotic or traditional, he's hated.

It's a simple by the numbers job.

Thus, although some here have written of this revealing how the war changed people's morality, this is false. We see before the War ever begins, that we're watching as rotten a group as one can imagine - deeply self-pitying and selfish people - women without any kind of femininity ("sure, I'll have sex with you whenever you like once I've married a rich man"), men without any kind of masculinity ("sure, I raped as many women as often as I could - committed war atrocities, sure, the lot - it was WAR and I know war and you don't" (and I can't stop talking about it because I'm as self-pitying a human as you'll ever ever meet! Why, I saw men die!")).

I hated these characters - really loathed them right down to the ground.

This was a grave disappointment because I have really liked so many of the actors in other things - from Nicholas LePrevost to Jennifer Ehle, from Rosemary Harris to Toby Stephens, from Paul Eddington to Felicity Kendall to Richard Johnson. Perhaps the book is better - but I doubt it. It's the characters and story that I found despicable.

Fun , Touching , Sexy And Grrreeeeaaaaaatttt!

[moloko-4 · 20 September 1999]

Let's get the obvious out of the way first , Jennifer Ehle is GORGEOUS , so excuse me if i seem biased! Set during the war , a family with a strange besotment with the smell of their yard (?) are thrown in to a sea of love , hate and torrid affairs! The acting is absoloutely priceless throughout with everyone doing a marvellous job! Only problem is , where can i get it on VHS or DVD? A fantastic drama , a treat for all!

A Warning

[May-11 · 1/10 · 10 July 2005]

After reading the rave reviews on this site I bought this DVD. I love British (period) drama, and many favourite actors and actresses were in these mini-series (Jennifer Ehle, Paul Eddington, Toby Stephens...). What can I say? It's absolutely awful. There isn't anything redeeming about it: the plot is ridiculous and boring, the script is embarrassing and all seem to be giving the worst performances of their lives. As mentioned by others, there are lots of delicate issues like adultery etc. and usually I'm fine with it, but in these mini-series all incidents are just uninteresting and ridiculous. For the first time, I gave a 1 out of 10 rating to British mini-series. I'm not even watching the second DVD. P.S.: By the way, I was particularly disappointed with Jennifer Ehle, who I have loved in each and every role (Pride and Prejudice, Possession, Paradise Road).

opens your eyes

[andyb-4 · 4 August 2000]

Jennifer Ehle is certainly attractive and shows a lot more in this epic than in her later Jane Austen roles. But for an example of dark and sultry pouting look no further than Tara Fitzgerald. This production also features everyones 1970's favourite pin-up Felicty Kendal, but she's playing an old woman here folks!