This is one of the more propagandistic things you'll ever see - and within moments you can rat out the way the characters, situations will go - if the character/situation is self-pitying, libertine, atheist, self-absorbed, licentious - he/she is loved. If disciplined, restrained, religious, frankly patriotic or traditional, he's hated.It's a simple by the numbers job.Thus, although some here have written of this revealing how the war changed people's morality, this is false. We see before the War ever begins, that we're watching as rotten a group as one can imagine - deeply self-pitying and selfish people - women without any kind of femininity ("sure, I'll have sex with you whenever you like once I've married a rich man"), men without any kind of masculinity ("sure, I raped as many women as often as I could - committed war atrocities, sure, the lot - it was WAR and I know war and you don't" (and I can't stop talking about it because I'm as self-pitying a human as you'll ever ever meet! Why, I saw men die!")).I hated these characters - really loathed them right down to the ground.This was a grave disappointment because I have really liked so many of the actors in other things - from Nicholas LePrevost to Jennifer Ehle, from Rosemary Harris to Toby Stephens, from Paul Eddington to Felicity Kendall to Richard Johnson. Perhaps the book is better - but I doubt it. It's the characters and story that I found despicable.

Those of us who lived through WWII may be taken aback by the characters in this film which are at odds with our impressions of the staid Brits during that era. The assertion that some of their bizarre conduct was a result of the war is not totally convincing. The cast is uniformly excellent especially Felicity Kendal as Helene and Rebecca Hall as a young Sophy. Oliver Cotten was convincing as the lecherous Max although I felt his German tirades were a bit overdone. Those of us who have only seen Jennifer Ehle in "Pride and Prejudice" will be very surprised at her radically different portrayal of the amoral young Calypso. I do feel that some of the nudity and graphic language was gratuitous and prevented the film from reaching the larger audience it deserved. I found a certain irony in the beginning and end of the film. In the opening scenes, young Oliver and young Sophy discuss the evils of fascism and in the final scene old Oliver and old Sophy drive away in a Volkswagon Beetle. Their long delayed reunion had a striking similarity to that of Lionel and Jean in "As Time Goes By." The editing of only a few scenes would have given greater circulation to the film.

I'd been curious for years to see this thing, both because of the very interesting actors, and the period setting. Now I've just watched the British DVD, and found that its absolutely brilliantly done, and compulsively watchable. Its basically the saga of an "extended family" from 1939 to 1984, focusing on the females - all of them quite lively, and several of whom have luckily married into money. The characters are admittedly somewhat shallow and self-centered, but nevertheless fascinating. The acting and direction are so wonderful, and the story is so intriguing and amusing, that it all just flies by, leaving you wanting more. I suspect that this is one of those rare times when the "film-version" improves on the original book. Kudos to Channel 4 for having successfully tackled another edgy piece of material.It takes some time getting accustomed to the affected and presumably somewhat archaic upper-middle-class accents assumed by some of the actors. The occasionally plummy and arch dialog, particularly between Calypso and Oliver, started to remind me strongly of watching Rex Harrison and his wives elegantly sniping at each other in "Blithe Spirit (1945)". As an American this blows right by me; I can only guess that, for the UK audience, the accents will place the characters very firmly in time, place, and class.Trivia note: young Sophy is played by Rebecca Hall, who is the daughter of the director Peter Hall. She turns in an amazing performance.

Let's get the obvious out of the way first , Jennifer Ehle is GORGEOUS , so excuse me if i seem biased! Set during the war , a family with a strange besotment with the smell of their yard (?) are thrown in to a sea of love , hate and torrid affairs! The acting is absoloutely priceless throughout with everyone doing a marvellous job! Only problem is , where can i get it on VHS or DVD? A fantastic drama , a treat for all!