‘War and Peace’ episode 4 review: Heart of betrayal
For the past few weeks, we’ve felt as though the BBC has done a very good job when it comes to capturing the spirit of Leo Tolstoy’s classic “War and Peace.” On Sunday, for the first time we feel like the show did something different. It transcended the source material and became something fantastic in its own right.
What does it mean to fall in love? This is a question that Natasha asked herself near the end of this installment as she started to feel like she was falling deeply for Anatole, a man who she came to love to the extent of “ruining herself,” even though she had made a promise to Andrei previously. He had departed for a year, and in that time feelings changed. We understand the plight of Natasha, even if we do not perhaps understand the method and her impulsive decision to run away with him while ignoring the obvious warning signs over his head.
With this in mind, Natasha decided to make it clear to Andrei’s family that she had made a mistake, and that she was releasing herself from the engagement. Lily James’ performance was one of the reasons why all of this was so powerful, but what made it even more so was the excellent score, which played up the notes of intensity, hardship, and betrayal that was bleeding through the lips of some of these characters. This is not the modern day; engagements were more binding then, and seeing someone with the self-reliance to run away with another man is not something you saw often.
We certainly know that the story for Natasha and others is far from over (especially since we’ve got a good sense as to just what sort of man Anatole truly is, and also where he is going now after a stern threat and the revelation of his wife in Poland), and that matters will get even more intense / heartbreaking before this is over. While this episode may have minimized the role of Pierre and others at times, there is still no doubting in our mind just how fantastic this was from start to finish as entertainment. Grade: A-.
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sigrid28
January 27, 2016 @ 4:01 am
Bravo, CarterMatt, for delivering the only “War and Peace” review/recap that, in my estimation, serves as more than the paraphrase of a press release or the equivalent of a book report with snarky comments. What got my attention is that you touch on the reason for adapting literature for television or film in the first place: to do something that reading a book cannot. Natasha’s rejection of Prince Andrei is one of the most incomprehensible plot points in the novel. It’s interesting to think that the audience might get more from sharing Natasha’s passion than from understanding it, especially in terms of character development when it comes to Natasha’s future as the story unfolds.
Another fascinating point of interpretation this adaptation ventures to offer is the true nature of Ellen’s relationships with Boris and Dolokhov. Since Dolokhov truly has an affair with Ellen while living as a guest under Pierre’s roof in the adaptation, Pierre has far more justification for challenging Dolokhov to a duel than he does in the novel, which intensifies the suspense during the duel.
On the subject of Pierre, one of the challenges of adapting “War and Peace” for television is the difficulty of developing a principal character who looks and acts foolish so much of the time: Pierre must appear to be absolutely incapable of being anything other than sincere and well-meaning while still holding the viewer’s attention. The writing and directing in this production, and of course film editing, have seen to this in a very remarkable way—not to mention a multilayered, patient, and thoroughly convincing performance by actor Paul Dano. We not only worry about Pierre, we come to love him, as we do in the novel, a feat of entertainment that is accomplished through very deft strokes.