Under the Biltmore Clock

I know, I know--I was surprised. But act she does, splendidly nailing the slight desperation of the flapper heroine of this piece,and the saving grace of pride that makes you love her character in the end.

This is the best kind of wonderful surprise of a movie, one where you don't expect anything special from it. A PBS adaptation of an F. Scott Fitzgerald story? How boring is THAT going to be? And it starts off staid and unremarkable, and gets better and better as it goes until you realize you've been had, and this is one that's going to stick in the memory a long, long time.

It's also wonderful in that all of its plot and surprises spring directly from the characters. Everything gets wilder and wilder, and everything makes perfect sense in retrospect.

I'm only giving it four stars, because I haven't seen the DVD yet---I'm rating the movie itself. I'll be back with an evaluation of the transfer.

I had never heard of this story by Scott Fitzgerald although I read all his novels, some several times. So, when I found this on the shelf at the library I was intrigued, checked it out and I was not disappointed when I saw it.

The jazz era is interesting and colorful in itself--the costumes and settings are fun to look at. This cast is excellent. Sean Young is very convincing as the beautiful, self-assured young flapper who goes after the rich but shy Knowleton Whitney, who is wonderfully played by Lenny Von Dohlen. There's an amusing group of characters who inhabit the Whitney estate in Westchester County, NY.

The story takes you on some surprising turns as you watch the progress of this romance. The ending is terrific---no, I won't spoil it for you. I recommend this film especially to anyone who likes Scott-Fitzgerald but I think anyone would enjoy it.

Sean Young is perfectly cast as an F. Scott Fitgerald heroine in this good PBS adaptation of one of his short stories. She captures the brittle charm, beauty, and underlying vulnerability of the Jazz Age girls he wrote about. She would have made a great Daisy Buchanan. This isn't one of Fitzgerald's best stories, but it very much captures his distinctive style, mood, and favorite subjects--money, fashion, and their ephemeral power.