The Line of Beauty (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Directed by Saul Dibbs, this opulent adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty - his decadent coming of age novel about love, class, sex and money set in the hypocritical Thatcherite Eighties - is indeed a feast for the eye. Beautifully acted, with a spot-on affinity for detailing time and place, The Line of Beauty replicates Hollinghurst's hedonistic themes and the moral quandaries of Nick Guest (Dan Stevens), the titular middle-class outsider in this world of privilege.
As with the book, this film adaptation begins in 1983 when the young twenty-year-old Nick Guest is asked by his friend Toby Fedden (Oliver Coleman) to come and stay with his family in their sumptuous Notting Hill home in the Kensington Park Gardens estate. Gerald Fedden (Tim McInnerny) is a sycophantic Tory Member of Parliament who is on the rise, and is basking in the glory of Thatcher's economic policies. Gerald lives with loyal wife Rachel (Alice Krigg), his daughter Catherine (Hayle Atwell), and Toby.
Nick's comes from a provincial, terribly middle class background - his father is a humble antiques dealer - but he is welcomed into the Fedden family like a type of surrogate son and over time, he becomes a kind of minder to the neurotic and troubled Catherine. Nick is wined and dined, enthusiastically partaking of the family's lavish parties and political dinners, trying to impress them in their superficial discussions on literature, art and antiques.
Nick tries his best to promote civility amongst their affluent boredom, but he's unsure of his footing in this opulent, prosperous looking-glass world. In fact, Dan Stevens plays Nick with a kind of wide-eyed, eloquent fury, always nicely mannered, but forever hidden is the ever-present pretension and affectation, and as he gazes hopefully into the gilt arch of the hall mirror, this troubled man finds it reluctant to give its approval.
Nick constantly has to remind himself that he is doing this all for pleasure, yet when he falls in love with Leo, (Don Gilet) a lusty black cockney and socialist council worker, he finds himself caught in a Jamesian-like dilemma, wedged between the powerful, privileged life led by the Feddens and their friends, whilst also having to face the stark realities of Eighties Britain - the vast unemployment and the rise of AIDS.
The second and third episodes of the series feature Nick's relationship with Wani (Alex Wyndham), a long-lashed Lebanese millionaire playboy. While working as a creative consultant on Wani's new magazine, Ogee - named after the curve that is Hogarth's line of beauty - Nick is introduced to a world of non-stop threesomes, moneyed decadence, and cocaine-fueled days and nights. And of course this all culminates in the beautifully recreated coke-fuelled dance with "The Lady" herself, the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher (Kika Markham).
This BBC adaptation follows Hollinghurst's book pretty much to the letter, although in some instances, the film fails to catch much of the subtleness and nuance of the source material. The scenes involving Nick's sex and coke binges in the toilets and bedrooms of his grand surroundings seem hurriedly cut short, and the pivotal scene of the dreary piano recital fails to capture the tiniest social shenanigans and inherent boredom of all the guests as well as it could.
Also, when the Fedden's take Nick on their holiday to France, the pacing slows a bit, but thankfully picks up speed again in readiness for the final dénouement, the penultimate dance with The Lady. The cast is solid throughout, but Stevens is without a doubt the standout, imbuing Nick with a neediness and an obvious desire to be loved. He speaks his emotions and is in need of reassurance of his place within the Fedden household. He exists in a limbo space of not quite belonging, and in innocence of the dark undertones of the world he has entered.
Amidst the euphoria of first love, champagne and high society parties, the young graduate witnesses political scandal, deception, and the ultimate hypocrisy towards his sexuality, and that of his bretheren. The unsaid mantra is that it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you keep it quiet and do it in private. The Line of Beauty is indeed a richly textured coming-of-age story, and accomplished adaptation of a classic work of literature set against the backdrop of a ruthless decade of change and transformation. Mike Leonard October 06.


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Adapted by award-winning writer Andrew Davies from Alan Hollinghurst's Booker Prize-winning novel, this three-part saga is set during the Thatcherite 1980s. A story of love, class, sex and money, The Line of Beauty crawls deep under the skin of Thatcher's Britain, seen through the eyes and experiences of a young, gay man, from the euphoria of falling in love to the tragedy of AIDS. Framed by the two general elections which returned Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative government to power, the series unfurls through four extraordinary years of change and tragedy.

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