There are lots of things about the mini-series that are wonderful. The acting is mostly quite good, the costumes and scenery are wonderful, and the story is addicting. There are no true "heros" or "heroines in the series - every character has something unlikable about them. For example, the main two protagonists are Young Jolyon - a man who makes selfish decisions to follow his heart - and Irene - a poor woman who marries a man she dislikes for money and has an affair with her best friend's fiancé. The main villain is Soames - a man who marries for love knowing that Irene doesn't love him and ends up a controlling and abusive husband. All his actions towards her - however terrible - are the result of being tortured by unrequited love. Some might be put off by the lack of good and bad characters, but I find it refreshing. However, there are some elements that don't quite work. The sheer number of characters and years covered makes it a bit difficult to keep track of who is who among the minor characters. The death of certain characters don't have any emotional impact on the viewer because they never really became someone we care about. The melodrama is also taken a bit too far - "The Forsyte Saga" has a kind of soap opera appeal that is only aided by the quick shifts in years that give us characters newly grown to enter the drama.
My biggest problem with the show is Gina McKee. It may be an inherent problem with the character of Irene (I have not read the books), but McKee's performance comes across as very cold and flat. There is no reason to believe that Irene was a warm, lively person before her failed marriage to Soames. Irene is a woman with smart ideas and wit, but has no personality to back it up. Her reserve during and after marriage could be explained away as a result of her domineering and abusive relationship with her husband. Regardless, it is just plain unbelievable that so many characters would be compelled and drawn towards her - especially not so compelled and drawn that they are willing to hurt the people that they love to be with her. Everybody falls in love with Irene, but it's hard to see why. On a superficial note, I felt that the series was constantly trying to convince us that McKee is much more good-looking than she really is. McKee can look from plain to beautiful depending on the angle, lighting, and her expressions. From the sheer number of times characters from the series remark on how beautiful she is, one would think that Irene has a Helen of Troy-esquire quality to her.
As a character central to many of the plot developments that require us to believe she is appealing to men (three men fall in love with her and one has a strong attachment to her), it is essential to have an actress who plays the part of not just a woman emotionally set back by her father's death and an unhappy marriage, but as a woman with a charisma or mysterious air that draws people in - anything that makes you relate to the events on screen. McKee also fails to have any chemistry with any of her male counterparts. In some ways, watching Irene's relationships are like what watching an audition between the men and some random studio hand must be like. The failure of a compelling Irene means that "The Forsyte Saga" can't be as good as it could have been.
My biggest problem with the show is Gina McKee. It may be an inherent problem with the character of Irene (I have not read the books), but McKee's performance comes across as very cold and flat. There is no reason to believe that Irene was a warm, lively person before her failed marriage to Soames. Irene is a woman with smart ideas and wit, but has no personality to back it up. Her reserve during and after marriage could be explained away as a result of her domineering and abusive relationship with her husband. Regardless, it is just plain unbelievable that so many characters would be compelled and drawn towards her - especially not so compelled and drawn that they are willing to hurt the people that they love to be with her. Everybody falls in love with Irene, but it's hard to see why. On a superficial note, I felt that the series was constantly trying to convince us that McKee is much more good-looking than she really is. McKee can look from plain to beautiful depending on the angle, lighting, and her expressions. From the sheer number of times characters from the series remark on how beautiful she is, one would think that Irene has a Helen of Troy-esquire quality to her.
As a character central to many of the plot developments that require us to believe she is appealing to men (three men fall in love with her and one has a strong attachment to her), it is essential to have an actress who plays the part of not just a woman emotionally set back by her father's death and an unhappy marriage, but as a woman with a charisma or mysterious air that draws people in - anything that makes you relate to the events on screen. McKee also fails to have any chemistry with any of her male counterparts. In some ways, watching Irene's relationships are like what watching an audition between the men and some random studio hand must be like. The failure of a compelling Irene means that "The Forsyte Saga" can't be as good as it could have been.