![]() ![]() Even though Elizabeth McGovern is a star, the movie needed more than her. I watch you for your drama, heartache and all-around amazing quality content, but I expected more from The Chaperone. PBS, I love you, but don’t settle for anything below your highest potential. The year is 1922, the woman is a genteel Presbyterian wife named Norma (Elizabeth. I wish there were more substance to the movie - especially since it’s based on a true story and there’s no way the conflict could have been that clean in real life. The Chaperone is about a woman who abandons her literal and figurative corsets and discovers her bliss. Despite everything that happens in the movie, everyone somehow ends up friends again. The 20-year flash forward at the end is sweet but wraps up the loose ends a little too neatly. But, like the other potential plot lines, it fizzles out too. There’s one twist in the movie that’s pretty unexpected. While the 1920s aspect was fun, it needed more glitter, glam and scandal to be enough. The movie is slow and doesn’t have a real climax. You’d expect some sort of scandal within that plotline, yet nothing comes of that either. When the opportunity arises for Louise Brooks (Haley Lu Richardson) to go to New York to study with a leading dance troupe, her mother insists there be a chaperone. Elsewhere, Louise and her male (married!) dance teacher flirt and seem to have some sort of connection. But nothing really comes of it - there’s no conflict, nothing juicy. In fact, lack of twist seems to be a recurring theme throughout the film.įor instance, Norma is adopted, and the movie spends a lot of time on her search for her biological family in New York. While Norma and Louise’s relationship is sweet at times, the cautious-adult-and-reckless-kid power struggle is a little overdone, and The Chaperone doesn’t exactly put a unique twist on the theme. The Chaperone is a work of historical fiction written by American author Laura Moriarty and published in 2012. Norma slaps some reality back in her and tells her to “just get on a train and go!” The film flashes 20 years forward at the end, and Louise is washed up, back in Kansas and doesn’t want to perform anymore. The film flashes 20 years forward at the end, and. But by the film’s end, Norma is more open and supportive. ![]() But by the film’s end, Norma is more open and supportive. At first, the chaperone is standoffish and wary of Louise’s crazy and reckless spirit. Premiere Date: Premieres Sundays, April 30 May 21, 2023, at 9 pm ET on PBS. At first, the chaperone is standoffish and wary of Louise’s crazy and reckless spirit. Seeing Norma’s character development throughout the film is enjoyable. Reaching the top, the woman knocks on a door. The dance scenes in particular are some of my favorite parts, with Louise twirling and dancing around. An attractive woman in her early sixties is climbing a staircase lined with 1920s-era movie stills and posters of a glamorous young woman sporting a black Dutch bob hairstyle. Louise will go on to become an icon of the Roaring ’Twenties and a rebellious model for her. I wasn't prepared to like it because I'm not a fan of Elizabeth McGovern, but I got pulled in after a few minutes and thoroughly enjoyed it.The movie’s Jane Austen-esque ambiance is beautiful, with its pastel dresses and light piano music. The Chaperone is a story of self-discovery during a tumultuous period in American history. I don't know if that attitude was in the original novel or Julian Fellowes added it in the screenplay. That one would raise eyebrows even today. Two that stood out for me were when Louise revealed that she had an affair with her much older Sunday school teacher and Norma shouted at her "What happened to you was abuse!", and then at the end in 1942 where we have one perfect blended family that includes Norma's lover (still playing her brother) as well as her husband's male lover all sitting amiably at the dinner table. ![]() Yes, there were several instances where obviously modern sensibilities replaced what would have been the cultural norms of the time. ![]() Did she think a girl who got pregnant at 16 in the late 1800s and was sent away to have her baby would really tell anyone about it? But Elizabeth McGovern conveyed Norma’s hurt very well. I was surprised that Norma seemed shocked that her mother didn’t want her “new” family to know about her. It could have easily been 2-2 hour episodes. The Chaperone stars Academy Award®-nominated Actress Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey). ![]()
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