Reviews

Julia goes into the jungle to learn about Orangutans from a Jane Goodall-like professor who studies them in their natural habitats. The show is interesting if you want to learn about Orangutans.

Then Julia goes in search of an adult male orangutan. These older males live alone and grow very large. She meets a 400 lb male who takes a liking to her. She goes up to him for a little chat, but he grabs her and doesn't want to let go. He doesn't want to hurt her. He just wants to keep her. It's like King Kong without the biplanes and special effects.

The screen goes blank for a moment, and Julia is free. We don't see what the crew did to Kong, but the narrator says he was shot with a tranquilizer gun. Kong-lovers know "Twas beauty downed the beast."

I thought Jonathan Rhys Meyers performance as the snobbish, bullying, insecure Georgie was great. This guy bases his whole life on being the scion of a wealthy, upper crust family. When his family status drops, Georgie must find himself to escape from his arrogant dependence on his family name.

I found the romance between Bruce Greenwood and Madeline Stowe somewhat tepid. Stowe looked old, and hardly the radiant beauty that Greenwood remembers. However the critics who say that Georgie shouldn't have been able to break up his mother's romance don't understand the social climate of the time period.

The turn of the 19th to the 20th Century was an interesting time in America. Tarkington's book is about the changing social order, by showing the rise of self-made men over old money and lineage. I thought that was done very well in this production, but based on the other comments I appear to be in the minority.