"The Line of Beauty" (2006) TV mini-series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

17 May 2006 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A young man becomes attached to a family that's not his own, and casts himself into the life of plentiful riches and gay love affairs that he seems destined for.

Plot Keywords:

Promiscuity | Homosexual | AIDS | Scandal | Thatcher

Cast

Dan Stevens	...	Nick Guest (3 episodes, 2006)
Tim McInnerny	...	Gerald Fedden (3 episodes, 2006)
Hayley Atwell	...	Cat Fedden / ... (3 episodes, 2006)
Alice Krige	...	Rachel Fedden (3 episodes, 2006)
Carmen du Sautoy	...	Elena (3 episodes, 2006)
Alex Wyndham	...	Wani Ouradi (3 episodes, 2006)
James Bradshaw	...	Polly Tompkins (3 episodes, 2006)
Oliver Coleman	...	Toby Fedden (3 episodes, 2006)
Lydia Leonard	...	Penny Kent (3 episodes, 2006)
Don Gilet	...	Leo Charles (3 episodes, 2006)
Christopher Fairbank	...	Barry Groom (3 episodes, 2006)
Oscar James	...	Brentford (2 episodes, 2006)
John Warnaby	...	Badger (2 episodes, 2006)
John Standing	...	Lord Kessler (2 episodes, 2006)
Siri Svegler	...	Martine (2 episodes, 2006)
Nikki Amuka-Bird	...	Rosemary Charles (2 episodes, 2006)
Justin Salinger	...	Russel / ... (2 episodes, 2006)
Caroline Blakiston	...	Lady Partridge (2 episodes, 2006)
Julia St. John	...	Greta Timms (2 episodes, 2006)
David Yelland	...	John Timms (2 episodes, 2006)
John Quayle	...	Geoffrey Titchfield (2 episodes, 2006)
Bruno Lastra	...	Tristao (2 episodes, 2006)
Tom Knight	...	Norman Kent (2 episodes, 2006)

Runtime:

USA:179 min (San Francisco Lesbian & Gay Film Festival)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

In the pub scene for Nick and Leo's first meeting, "time" is called at the end of the evening by the real landlord of that pub, the Windsor Castle pub.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nick Guest: Wow. Is this really where you live?
Toby Fedden: Yep, well, you know, where my parents live. What's the matter, something wrong with it?
Nick Guest: No, it's... it's lovely.
Toby Fedden: Come on, then.

Innocence Beguiled

A naive young man falls in with a wealthy Tory politician and his family in 1980s Britain.

Wonderful adaptation of Hollinghurst's novel, expertly cast. The greed, selfishness, hedonism, ignorance and bigotry that for many sums up the Thatcher era are all on display as Stevens' innocent abroad Nick is drawn in and swept away by the Feddens family. Even as we see Nick become an almost indispensable member of the family, so we know his sweetness and ingenuousness must surely be his undoing...

Stevens is brilliant, effortlessly capturing the essence of the well-meaning and ingratiating Nick, and he is formidably supported by all concerned, from the key players (McInnerny, Atwell, Krige) to the host of fantastic cameos on display. A must-see for anyone who came-of-age in Thatcher's Britain.