Interesting turn of the century series
For starters, "Downton Abbey" this is not. For some odd reason, a few critics out there expected another blockbuster PBS/BBC miniseries in the same vein as "D.A." but that rarely ever happens.That being said, "Mr. Selfridge" is certainly a well-made tale about the titular character who's wonderfully played by Jeremy Piven. A few critics made comments of some kind or other, claiming that the actor was just playing his Ari character from Entourage with a different wardrobe or whatever but that's an unfair assessment, at least in my opinion. Piven plays Selfridge as a mercurial, ambitious man, driven to be a success, even at the expense of his sweet but frustrated wife Rose, played by a glowing Frances O'Conner. I liked how they showed Harry, flaws and all. You root for him, even when he's being a knob to his wife and family because Piven gives him a likability despite his often over-driven personality.
The series weaves in several other human interest stories, fleshing out the people that helped make Selfridge's the successful store it became (and still is today). I especially liked the stories surrounding shop girl Agnes, rising slowly but steadily from dirt poor to a senior position, all the while getting romanced by not one but two of her handsome fellow co-workers. The writers even give O'Conner's "Rose" a tempted storyline with a hot young painter when she starts to feel neglected by Harry and grows suspicious of his after hours activities (which tended to include popular chorus girl and reigning tart, Ellen Love). Good stuff.
The series did start off a bit slow in the first two hours but once it picked up steam and you knew who was who and what was going on, it really began to hold it's own. If you want Downton style drama, well, this series won't match it but the acting in Mr Selfridge is first rate and the character's stories will draw you in and keep you there. Another good one from the PBS/BBC juggernaut.
score 8/10
Zen416 28 May 2013
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2804121/14540
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