I should start by saying that I agree with you Amanda - about the overall production of the movie, the actresses, the performances, the sets. It was wonderfully done and the script was pretty faithful to SW's book. That was something I appreciated immensely.
Selina definitely embodied the mystery that she had in the book. She had that quiet beauty which caught Margaret's eye the moment she first cast eyes on her. I loved that scene - the image of Serena sitting in the light with a purple flower in her hand...couldn't have been truer to the picture SW painted in her novel. Selina is definitely a fascinating character.
Like I mentioned in my post last night, Anna Madeley really was Margaret personified, IMO. She looked exactly how I saw Margaret as I read the story. She spoke volumes with her eyes, her posture.. she just brought Margaret to life.
Speaking of Selina and Margaret's relationship...
I personally think that Margaret is attracted to Selina the instant she sees her sitting alone in her cell with that little flower in her hand. She looked almost ethereal. I think after a few visits to Millbank, she finds an escape from her own claustrophobic life in Selina's prison cell, ironically. I would really like to believe that Selina developed a genuine attachment to Margaret. After all, each one saw in the other something she wanted:
- Margaret found the possibility to love again after the devastating end of her relationship with Helen. I believe she felt like Nan was feeling when she said, "I was beginning to sense a bit of my old self back" (after she saw Flo for the first time). Margaret rediscovered her buried sexuality, her longings, the more Selina drifted into her life. She began to leave Helen behind.
- Selina, on the other hand, saw Margaret as a way out of Millbank, no doubt. I don't know when exactly she hatched out her plan, but she must have been aware of Margaret's feelings very early on in order to set the plan into motion. She was desperate, anyone would be if they were cooped up in a dingy place like Millbank. She might've loved Margaret but that love was clearly not enough to keep her from betraying her as thoroughly as she did.
One of the moments that stay with me still - when Margaret visits Selina to tell her that she has everything ready for their escape. When Selina starts to get ready for bed, Margaret says, "Let me look at you"... you can hear the longing in her voice and see it in her face. That moment was captured so beautifully. If only Margaret knew what Selina meant when she said, "I'm sorry.." *sigh*
Now, what did you make of that Theophilus fellow? He was not in the novel.
All I'll say for the moment is - that beard irritated me to no end. LOL
