PBS’ ‘Sanditon’ premiere gives Austen drama pedestrian treatment where economics trumps etiquette
There is always an unease running through Austen dramas about wealth. Distributed disproportionately, it shapes the ebb and flow of insults, insinuations, and criticism masked in elaborate rituals of conversation and etiquette.
The more money one has, the less circumspect they can be about their speech and manners in Austen novels. But money and wealth are also never spoken about directly and are only mentioned when "prospects" are being discussed.
Andrew Davies' adaptation brings the conversations about money, investments and inheritances to the forefront and keeps the rituals of etiquette and costumes as window dressing.
This is not an entirely successful gambit. But it does help the audience understand the stakes and who has the winning cards, quite quickly, through the outsider's eyes of Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams).
Miss Heywood, who is neither rich nor poor, is also the only one without an agenda in 'Sanditon'. She is "delightful", like other plucky Austen heroines before her but doesn't have quite a sharp wit or tongue or imagination.
She is generally amiable and pleasing to the eye and innocuous enough to become the one who everyone confides in. The most surprising of these is when Esther Denham (Charlotte Spencer) tells Miss Heywood that she will poison Clara Brereton (Lily Sacofsky) if she manages to get included in Lady Denham's (Anne Reid) will.
Clara too hurries to confide in Miss Heywood after being spotted in a "compromising" situation with Edward (Jack Fox), the playboy/villain of the piece, and brother to Esther. The toxic sister-brother duo also exhibits a slightly incestuous familiarity with each other.
Clara herself seems to be playing the long game -- sweet and unassuming in person, she plans and plots just like Esther. We also have Theo James as Sidney Parker who could have just worn a cape with "The Hero" stenciled on it.
Till now, none of the characters in 'Sanditon' stand out, except the black heiress Miss Lambe. In a few scenes, she communicates the discomfort of being the center of attention because of her skin color and her rage at her "guardian" Sidney Parker for bringing her to England.
Where Davies will take this story after a fairly pedestrian first premiere episode, remains to be seen. 'Sanditon' airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. on PBS.
