Movie Review: ***North & South

This is not the "North and South" dealing with the Civil War.  It is a BBC movie based on the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell.  The major characters are played by Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage.  (If you watch BBC Robin Hood he plays Guy Grisbane)  I watched this four-part series on Netflix Instant Movies.  It was presented in 2004.  I was looking for Jane Austen Movies and came across this one.

It is different than Jane Austen movies as it is darker and has a more naturalistic flavor.  It is about a family that leaves the more agrarian lifestyle in Southern England, and moves north.  It presents the conditions of the mill workers in Northern England.  It is a very realistic period piece presenting the premature death of those working in the mills.

The story revolves around the relation between Maraget Hale, daughter of the family and John Thorton who owns a mill.  The relationship develops very much like a Jane Austen novel.  This story covers the same period of time in Jane Austen's books.

I would recommend this movie to those who like British period drama.