Through flashbacks, we learn the reason she is shown as lukewarm toward her marriage – and like her parental search (and the film’s pie-in-the-sky closing sequence) Norma’s concerns seem more suited to the 21st century than early 20th. While Louise is at class during the day, Norma, an adoptee, engages in some sleuthing to learn the identity of her birth parents. And surprise: A little of each rubs off on the other.Īdditionally, the film throws in references to the changing times with unsubtle references to the beginning of Prohibition, women’s newly won right to suffrage, the abandonment of corsets, the cruelty of schadenfreude, etc. The storyline concocts a tale in which Brooks’ insouciance and focused ambition are contrasted with the decorum and social acquiescence of her chaperone Norma Carlisle (McGovern). It’s a gap that allowed author Moriarty and screenwriter Fellowes to imagine quite a lot. Denis and Ted Shawn, Brooks’ father refused to let her go unaccompanied, hence “the chaperone,” about whom next to nothing is historically known. Despite having earned an opportunity to study at Denishawn, the famous modern-dance school formed by Ruth St. The Chaperone mostly takes place in 1922 when Brooks (Richardson) was 15 and a dancing scholarship in New York City became her ticket out of the cultural backwater of Wichita, Kan. Her career never reached such heights again. Then and now, Brooks’ carefree onscreen demeanor and helmut bob defined the popular idea of the modern Jazz Age woman. After an unsatisfying career in Hollywood films in the late 1920s, Brooks broke out in 1929 as Lulu, the star of Pandora’s Box, a film made in Germany by acclaimed director G.W. Two of McGovern’s compatriots from Downton Abbey – Julian Fellowes (the show’s writer and creator) and one of its directors, Michael Engler – have joined her in this endeavor, which tells a story about the silent-movie star Louise Brooks during her formative years prior to becoming an iconic screen presence and universal symbol of the era’s new independent woman. The film is based on Laura Moriarty’s popular novel of historical fiction, The Chaperone, whose audiobook version is read by Elizabeth McGovern (who stars in and is also a producer of this film). Although the terrific cast manages to deliver some small, lovely moments, The Chaperone keeps its corset fully laced and its narrative intentions in check. "She’s not a witch or a supernatural thing," Burton tells Town & Country.No chaperones are necessary to watch this genteel movie.
"I trust the filmmakers and the producers that they felt they were telling the story in a way that they had to in three hours, rather than reading a novel."ĭespite the miniaturist's unusual physical appearance in the show, it's still somewhat ambiguous whether or not she has magical powers, but according to Burton, she is decidedly not clairvoyant. "I think on some levels it works because it’s more explanatory, and I hope that will satisfy people, but the point of the miniaturist for me is that she’s an outsider looking in and she’s sort of a teacher, and she’s a comment on perception," Burton says.
"We felt that wasn’t right for this story and we didn’t want our audience to feel cheated,” Sinclair said, "so John has written a very beautiful scene where the two of them meet and Nella finds out more about who she is and why she’s doing what she’s doing." Burton reportedly gave her blessing for the addition to the adaptation. "The main character of the title, the Miniaturist, doesn’t appear a huge amount in the book and we felt that that was a slight oversight," executive producer, Kate Sinclair, told Radio Timesof the decision. Hence, actress Emily Berrington's mysterious portrayal. "For me, she was more of a symbol in the book, but I’m coming to learn that when you come to a more visual medium, you kind of have to draw those characters in more closely." "One of the predominant changes is the actual character of the miniaturist is shown," Burton tells Town & Country.
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