英國影集維多利亞時期貴族與妓女的愛情糾葛 Crimson Petal and White

The Crimson Petal and White is a BBC TV miniseries that aired in 2011. It consists of four episodes. It is adapted from Michel Faber's novel of the same name. The novel and TV series are set in Victorian London. They are about the prostitute Sugar and her patron William Rackham. William is the heir to a perfume business and has a mentally ill wife, Agnes. Though William vows to become a writer, he has no talent for writing and just becomes a good for nothing. William's father is disillusioned with his son's ability to manage the family business and decides to cut his son's allowance until William works more seriously. In his distress, William seeks comfort from a prostitute named Sugar and becomes infatuated with her. Sugar is writing a novel of her own about hatred and revenge against men. As William becomes more infatuated with Sugar, he makes her his mistress and keeps her in a London house. He visits her frequently though he cannot divorce his mentally ill wife. On one occasion, Sugar discovers where William lives and sees Agnes through her window. Agnes believes that Sugar is her personal angel come to deliver her from her misery. Sugar assists William with his company business and his business prospers. She eventually moves into his mansion on the pretense that she is the new governess to William and Agnes' daugther Sophie. Sugar becomes closer to Sophie; Agnes becomes more mentally unstable; William grows estranged to Sugar and treats her more like a servant or an adviser than a love; Sophie becomes dependent on Sugar as the mother she has never had. As Sugar tries to become part of the family, she realises that William does not see her as his wife or family but still just as a mistress.

The TV miniseries is dark and the audience follows how a Victorian period London prostitute maneuvers her way in life. The series depicts the emotions and thoughts of Sugar as she plays her various roles as prostitute, intellectual companion to William on literary topics, mistress, and governess/quasi-wife. The sex scenes show how Sugar's feelings towards William changes as she becomes more involved in his life. The relationship between Sugar and William also changes as Sugar becomes a part of Sophie's and Agnes' lives. What is striking is the portrayal of how the women see their relationships with William and how far removed it is from how William thinks the women see the relationships. On the surface, William is the one providing the family with the financial resources and he believes that he is in charge. The women submit themselves to his authority but work their ways around the rules he has set down. It is not until the end of the series that William finds out he is not the lord over the two women and his daughter - Agnes, Sugar, and Sophie. The mood is dark, depressing, and claustrophobic; the tone is literary. There are many layers of writing - Agnes writes a diary; Sugar writes a novel; William fails at writing a novel; Sugar narrates the whole story and her novel within the story. What is happening between Sugar and William is often juxtaposed with the vengeful torture present in Sugar's rendition of her life. Sugar's submission to William is undermined by the potential violence from within.

In the four photos below is Sugar (photos from IMDb).

Then there is William.

And then there is Agnes, the mentally ill wife.

The 'family' photo that Sugar has always wanted.

And the final shot where Sugar starts a new life with Sophie as they wait for the train.

8/10.