Norma's mother, Mary O'Dell ( Blythe Danner), when she turns up, admits she had no idea how body functions worked, let alone how to prevent pregnancy. Moriarty's novel is a story about how women are oppressed by being kept ignorant of the world. And that's before the show gets into Norma's real issues. From the first early conversation with neighbors where Norma finds herself shocked when they declare they are "joining the Klan" (as in, Ku Klux) to the weird "It's 1922 mom, women can vote now!" convo with her sons, everything feels off. But where Fellowes has a real feel for English country life and New York City of the period, his imagination falls painfully flat when it comes to Middle America. She was put in a catholic orphanage as a child in NYC, adopted out to Kansas farmers (this was a real practice), married to an older wealthy lawyer at 16, and now lives a stifling life in the mid-west. Norma is conceived as a woman with secrets. But that's where things go off the rails. But instead of drugging and drinking herself to death, she kept on, and by the time she passed away in 1985, she had reinvented herself as an author.Īnd McGovern does all she can with her fictionalized chaperone character. By the time she was in her early 30s, she was a complete has-been, a persona non-gratis in Hollywood. (When Lady Mary gets her hair bobbed in Downton Abbey Season 5, the reason is Louise Brooks.) But like most young women of the silver screen, Brooks lived fast and crashed out young. Sexually abused as a child, treated like garbage by her parents, Brooks blazed a trail through New York and Los Angeles, defined what most of us picture when someone says the "flapper era," and single-handedly started the bobbed-hair craze. Richardson herself is a revelation as Brooks, a figure worthy of her own biopic. Their chemistry as the older woman with conventional sensibilities and the young firecracker hellbent on kicking down every door carries quite a bit of the film. McGovern and Richardson, as Norma and Louise, make for a sharp pairing. The fault cannot be said to be with the show's stars. It's been available to stream via PBS Passport since August, and this weekend, it finally aired on Masterpiece itself. Its Rotten Tomatoes score gives it a 43% splat from critics.
#The chaperone catalyst movie
The Chaperone's run in theaters back in March was startlingly brief, especially compared to the Downton Abbey movie (which is still running over two months after its initial reliease). Unfortunately, the film has not caught fire the way some might have hoped. Fellowes' penchant for finding older female talent and writing them brilliant characters to play (as he's previously done with Maggie Smith, and now seems intent on doing with McGovern) would make this sound like a sure-fire bet for PBS Distribution to lead off a move to the big screen. As Brooks goes on to take the town by storm on her way to Hollywood, Norma goes on her own journey of self-discovery. Set in the same era as the beloved PBS show, The Chaperone follows the story of budding silent-era film star Louise Brooks ( Haley Lu Richardson), who leaves Wichita for New York City in the company of Norma Carlilse, a middle-class married matron who acts as her chaperone. It stars Elizabeth McGovern, who is currently best known for her turn in Downton Abbey as American heiress Cora Crawley.
Adapted and written by Julian Fellowesof Downton Abbey fame from the novel by Laura Moriarty, it is directed by Michael Engler (also of Downton Abbey fame). One can understand why this was the first project selected for it. The Chaperoneis the first major theatrical film release from PBS Distribution, best known up until now for home video releases. (Credit: Courtesy of Barry Wetcher/PBS Distribution)
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