I said that Clarissa does not wear a chemise under her corset - I did
not say that she did not wear a corset. As costumer, trying to
persuade customers to wear the proper underclothes, this sort of thing
undermines what I say and irritates me to heck!
They're making a film as entertainment, not a documentary on how to
layer 18th-century clothing.
Fran
Lavolta Press Books on Historic Costuming
http://www.lavoltapress.com
Suzi, making an 18th century chemise to be worn with an 18th century
corset and wedding dress.
I thought the costumes were, in general, good; and the settings
(country houses and so on) were lavish and elegant. As for 100%
accuracy, there is no such thing in any repro; but I didn't see
anything that damaged the film experience for me. I don't believe
that the be-all and end-all of every film is the costumes.
"Clarissa" is very, very well done. There's lots of great visual
work. Like, in the very beginning Clarissa comes downstairs to hear
her grandfather's will read. She's a few minutes late, so when she
enters you see her whole family ranged in a row, as it were against
her, all dressed in black and staring at her reprovingly. It sets
the tone of their relationship for the whole film.
And, Lovelace has a friend called Jack whose role is largely to hear
Lovelace expound his "rake's philosophy." If Lovelace had made his
points while they were sitting in a drawing-room, or for that matter
all at one time, it would have gotten tedious. But instead you hear
snatches of it, always when they're doing something masculine and
violent--shooting birds out of the sky or having an aggressive
fencing practice.
The dialog is excellent, with great nuances. For example, Clarissa
early on drops her glove in a garden and Lovelace hands it back to
her, saying "Yours, I believe?" Later, her brother slaps Lovelace in
the face with his glove, then throws it at him, and Lovelace hands
it back the same way and responds in the same tone, "Yours, I believe?"
It's a fantastic film. I don't understand why BBC waited over ten
years to put it on DVD.
Fran
Lavolta Press Books on Historic Costuming
http://www.lavoltapress.com
I saw this when first out and was disappointed in the costumes. No
chemises!!! Corsets on bare skin. Even Hogarth's prostitutes wore
chemises. No-one professing to be a lady, or even of the class of
Clarissa, would have gone without a corset. I don't remember Sean
Bean at all, and I am a huge fan. So you can tell what sort of an
impression it made on me.
Suzi
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