Review of The Forsyte Saga

What makes this whole series so compelling is the power of Damian Lewis. When he is on the screen, which luckily is most of the time, you just want to watch. Even when he is sneering and abominable, you can't take your eyes off him. Rupert Graves (young Jolyon) is more handsome and his character is much more likable. But it is Damian Lewis's performance that makes this miniseries worth watching. It is too bad they horribly miscast the part of Irene with Gina McKee. Do casting directors ever bother to even glimpse at the books they are making into movies? In the novel, Irene is blonde with dark eyes. She is delicate and enchanting. While McKee is certainly not unattractive, nothing about her is delicate. She is simply too formidable a personality to portray a lovely young thing at the mercy of, first her stepmother, then Soames, then saved from poverty by Old Jolyon, then from loneliness by young Jolyon. She is supposed to be a young teenager in the opening. It is way too difficult to "un-age" a middle-aged actress. Sorry, the whole Gina McKee thing ruined it for me. Damian Lewis revived it fortunately. I am still trying to dissect how he played Soames so sympathetically. I found myself wishing that Irene would just see how much he does love her, even though I knew he was a creepy stalker! Lewis is an amazing actor! Check him out in "Band of Brothers" -- you'd think he was American! (On a side note: That whole series (BofB) is an amazing tribute to the real men of Easy company who fought in WWII, don't miss it.) As for "The Forsyte Saga", although this one is good, I highly recommend the original BBC miniseries from the 1960's. It is very long, in black & white, and not as elaborately produced, but every minute is worth it! Meanwhile, I will be looking for Damian Lewis in future projects.