‘The Pursuit of Love’
A beguiling mash-up of Downton Abbey, The Royal Tenenbaums, Bridgerton and Little Women, this three episode mini-series on Amazon Prime is set in 1945 and contrasts two cousins as they come at love, friendship and coming-of-age from very different angles. Directed by Emily Mortimer and based on a novel of the same name, Fanny Logan (Emily Beecham) is the educated, practical cousin abandoned by her beautiful eccentric mother (Mortimer) and brought up by her sensible aunt, while Linda Radlett (Lily James in her usual period piece mode) is the ditzy, fun-loving charming one, stuck at home under her father’s (a mustachioed and quite hysterical Dominic West) tyrannical reign. An enchanting romp through several genres, in the end Pursuit of Love tends to further the Bookish vs Vivacious stereotypes of young women, using Linda’s loving and leaving of various men as an emotional education while poor cultured Fanny only overrides her repression with alcohol or anger. But, oh, what a weird and wondrous ride it is.