The Way We Live Now [2001 TV mini series]

BBC presents another exceptional production of a classic in this mini-series based on Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now. The series is comprised of four parts, each 75 minutes in length. At the center of the historical drama is Augustus Melmotte, a wealthy European businessman with suspect practices and ethics. In his desire to be an English country gentleman, Melmotte uses his abundant resources to fuel his social and financial rise in London. Ultimately, his fall from grace will prove even more dramatic than his meteoric rise. A great cast of characters complements the central story, notably: Marie Melmotte, lonely and ill-used daughter of the financier; Felix Carbury, lazy young baronet; Hetta Carbury, forward thinking in her show more intention to marry for love; and Paul Montague, ambitious young engineer. The Way We Live Now is an engaging tale of greed, corruption, politics, and the trials of young love.

Highly recommended! show less

It is interesting that this 1875 story, the closest thing to the so-called pulp fiction of the great novelist Anthony Trollope, is still so relevant in the 21st century. It covers the short but spectacular career in London of Augustus Melmotte, financial fraudster extraordinaire (David SUchet). Melmotte is kinda Victorian Bernie Madoff (guilty of the biggest fraud in Wall Street history), a promoter of ambitious business ventures with a flamboyant style that proves irresistible even to the diehards. Unlike Madoff, however, he has a seat in the House of Commons. Some diehards are suspicious of him but jump on the bandwagon anyway, no doubt hoping to make something for themselves along the way. Trollope weaves the plot threads deftly, show more using the Carbury family as central characters. Lady Carbury is the widow of a baronet (minor aristocracy) and without the means to live in proper style. His son Sir Felix is ​​a total parasite, putting all the money he gets on the card table and losing it. The title 'The Way We Live Now' is so appropriate today, when we see the incidents of virtually uncontrollable speculation on Wall Street, which has already caused more than one global financial crisis. show less