www ebigear comThe Pursuit of Love《追爱》
作者：尤安·富兰克林
来源：《英语世界》2021年第11期
Many of the best period dramas are social satires， beautifully disguid. Nancy Mitford’s interwar classic The Pursuit of Love goes further： mirthfully and tragically dismantling the very idea of love among the British upper class. Relic actor Emily Mortimer writes， directs， produces， and stars in this new BBC adaptation， which feels much more liberated than the regular output of stiff， Austenian scenarios.
We’re between the World Wars， following the lives of the nsibly shy Fanny （Emily Beecham） and her passionately extroverted best friend Linda （Lily James）.
As teenagers， they discuss their romantic fantasies of bagging1 the Prince of Wales or the local farmer： their imaginations confined to the family manor， Alconleigh. Once their adolescence reaches adulthood， they pursue more realistic options—but Linda never lets go of her fairytale perceptions of love.
The very English social fears ripple through， but the lavish Jazz Age atmosphere spills with cocktails and parties and a rockin’ soundtrack. Mortimer pursues a more modern， xy， and freewheeling style： painted with entertaining freeze frames and calligraphic titles2， skirting3 the likeness of a Baz Luhrmann film.dead space
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But unlike Luhrmann， Mortimer doesn’t dance enough in that world and creates a scattered pace that arbitrarily brakes and accelerates. Some characters are even left stranded4 at the side， with little context around them. The ries would’ve benefited from another episode， just to dwell in that company for longer and understand them better.
Lily James （The Dig） plays the fun and flighty5 Linda， who is， by far， the mos
t open and radiant member of the Radlett family. Fanny narrates her life， dictating Mitford’s funny and delectable pro. Their friendship is the stuff of dreams， an unbreakable bond that endures so many aches and never falters. But Linda doesn’t fully appreciate that， choosing instead to ‘aspire to true love， the kind which only comes once in a lifetime and lasts forever’.
The unreasonable aspirations engender relationships with a stuffy conrvative （The Crown’s Freddie Fox）， a rious socialist （Creation Stories6’ James Frecheville）， and a Parisian playboy （Call My Agent’s Assaad Bouab）. It’s easy to mock Linda， especially considering the grown-up company around her， but you can’t help but fall in love with her childish ideals.
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James carries Linda’s anxieties beautifully， keeping a perfectly compod face in front of others but often breaking in their abnce. She has a frustrating yet infectious energy， which spreads to her friends and family—even her comically traditional and furiously xenophobic7 father （brilliantly played by Dominic West）.
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James’s sunny limelight is almost stolen by the glorious Andrew Scott， who plays the attractively eccentric Lord Merlin. He’s Linda and Fanny’s first encounter with the bohemian lifestyle， filled with booze and art and creative abandon—releasing the women from the rigor mortis8 of Radlett living. It’s a shame there isn’t more of him， as he provides a spirited9 voice of reason in Linda’s life.口语教练
Although the characters come and go quickly， to the ries’ detriment10， you come to love all their vivacious personalities. The Pursuit of Love is a short， sharp and opulent shot of the interwar social scene. It’s richly charming， but annoyingly scattered—much like Linda.
許多最优秀的年代剧都是社会讽刺作品，只是不易察觉。南希·米特福德以一战和二战之间为时代背景的经典作品《追爱》则尤为入木三分：通过欢笑与悲剧，拆解了英国上流阶层的爱情观。在BBC改编的这部新版短剧中，出演《遗落家庭》的埃米莉·莫蒂默身兼编剧、导演、制片和主演，让这个版本与一贯较为刻板的奥斯汀式场景不同，令人感觉大为开放。
2013年大学英语四级
我们跟着镜头来到两次世界大战之间。故事讲述了腼腆而理智的范妮（埃米莉·比彻姆饰）和其好友，性格热烈外向的琳达（莉莉·詹姆斯饰）两人的生活。在十几岁的时候，她们就讨论彼此的浪漫幻想，臆想把威尔士亲王或那个当地农民据为己有：她们的想象仅限于居住的阿尔康利庄园。一满十八周岁，两人就开始追寻更为现实的对象——但琳达从未抛弃对于爱情的童话式幻想。
inexistence 当时的英国社会涌动着对于战争的恐惧，但觥筹交错的鸡尾酒会和派对，搭配摇滚乐背景，展现爵士乐时代的纸醉金迷，冲淡了这种氛围。莫蒂默利用逗趣的定格及在荧幕上投放书法字体的演职员表，采用一种更具现代性、更加性感迷人、也更为不拘一格的风格，有点像巴兹·吕尔曼的电影。
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但莫蒂默并未像吕尔曼那样充分展现上流世界的浮华，而是使得剧情忽而停滞忽而快进，节奏杂乱无章。有些人物甚至被搁置一旁，不知来龙去脉。这部剧如果再加一集可能会更好，至少让那群人在屏幕上停留的时间更久一点，对他们的了解更全面一些。
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