Fingersmith (2005)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fingersmith is a historical drama in two parts which premiered on British television (BBC) in 2005.

 

The story is set in England in 1861.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Director: Aisling Walsh

** Screenplay written by Peter Ransley

** Based on a novel by Sarah Waters

** Released on DVD in 2005

** Run time: 2 x 90 minutes = 180 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

** Elaine Cassidy as Miss Lilly (Maud)

** Sally Hawkins as Sue Trinder // “Susan Smith”

** Rupert Evans as Richard “the Gentleman” Rivers

** Charles Dance as Mr Lilly (Christopher) – Maud’s uncle

** Imelda Staunton as Mrs Sucksby

** David Troughton as Mr Ibbs

 

Sarah Waters (born 1966) is a Welsh writer. Her novel Fingersmith was first published in 2002. It was re-issued in 2012.

 

I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. I am not going to say much about what happens in this movie. I will only tell you how the story begins:

 

Sue Trinder is hired to work as a maid for Miss Lilly. She is a poor young woman who lives in London with Mrs Sucksby and Mr Ibbs. She makes her living as a thief who steals from people’s pockets. The word “fingersmith” is slang for a thief.

 

Miss Lilly lives in a huge manor house in the countryside where she works as a secretary for her uncle Mr Lilly who is an avid collector of books. In order to work for Miss Lilly, Sue has assumed the name Susan Smith.

 

This is all part of an elaborate plot to steal Miss Lilly’s inheritance.

 

This is how the story begins, and this is where my presentation ends. 

 

I will only tell you one more thing: there are many twists and turns in this story, and nothing is what it seems to be at first.

 

What do reviewers say about this movie?

 

Here are some results:

 

78 percent = IMDb

92 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

 

On Amazon there are at the moment more than 600 ratings of this product; more than 300 with reviews.

 

The average rating is 4.4 stars which corresponds to a rating of 88 percent.

 

If you ask me, the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and Amazon are too high, while the rating on IMDb is quite appropriate.

 

Why do I say this?

 

The story is captivating, dramatic and emotional. But the story is rather complicated.

 

In part one and the beginning of part two, this works quite well, but towards the end of part two, it gets too complicated.

 

This is a flaw and I have to remove one star because of this flaw. This is why I think this product deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).

 

PS. The Handmaiden is a South Korean movie based on the same novel by Sarah Waters. In this version, the story is transposed to Korea in the 1930s when Korea was a Japanese colony.

 

The young maid and the young gentleman are Koreans, while the young lady and her uncle are Japanese.

 

The Korean movie premiered in 2016. It was released on DVD in August 2017.

 

*****

Fingersmith

A historical novel

By Sarah Waters

(2002)

 

*****