Word: kilmer
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Starring Joanne Whalley-Kilmer in the title role, Timothy Dalton as Rhett Butler and 2,000 extras, Scarlett is a prodigal $45 million production -- the most expensive mini-series ever made. Rights to the book cost a record $9 million; history professors were marshaled to advise on the proper period china and silverware. And CBS, hoping that the show will help carry it to first place in the November Nielsen sweeps, is promoting the epic accordingly. In addition to launching a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, aimed largely at young women, the network will hold online computer discussions and offer...
...role of Scarlett might easily have been cast with a quick phone call to Susan Lucci, but instead Halmi conducted a worldwide search, which took six months and cost $1 million. He claims he auditioned 1,000 women before happening upon British actress Whalley-Kilmer one evening while watching television. "She is that determined little girl who knows exactly what she wants," says Halmi. "She can also manipulate people: she's bitchy, she's smart, she's lovable...
Best known for her performance in the 1989 film Scandal, Whalley-Kilmer brings an unnecessary sophistication to a role that requires her to do little more than kiss in midsentence and appear alternately tortured and feisty. In fact, many cast members -- including Sir John Gielgud (Scarlett's grandfather) and Julie Harris (Rhett's mother) -- seem wasted on a story without much of a plot and a script devoid of sharp dialogue. Dalton is a sufficiently handsome Rhett, although he lacks the intelligence and wit of Gone With the Wind's Clark Gable. What's more, Dalton is not given resonant...
...mystery about any of the characters here. It seems that Davies is afraid that if an idea was too subtly communicated, the audience might miss its overarching significance. Most characters are caricatures of exceedingly distasteful personality traits. When Davies wants us to know that the stepmother, Katherine, (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) has a problem, a stiff gent with the curiosity of a TV reporter blurts out, "She's taken a bottle... she's started to drink...
...redeeming aspects of "The Secret Rapture" is Whalley-Kilmer's performance. She expresses the contradiction between Katherine's warped vision of the world and her ability to exude adamant sexuality. Juliet Stevenson interacts best with the other characters, though the script often presents her with unrealistic prerogatives and situations. Marion might have been the most believable character, but Penelope Wilton's performance suffers from her tendency to rely on hyperbole to express Marion's flaws...