Emma Thompson has been a staple on audiences’ screens for decades, giving fabulous performances in Love Actually, Saving Mr. Banks, and the Harry Potter series, to name a few. One of the consistent aspects of many of her roles has been the strength and wit she has bestowed upon her characters, balancing beauty and grace in a way that made her an icon and acting powerhouse. With Down Cemetery Road, viewers are treated to a slightly different side of Thompson. Rather than sporting a neat and stiff upper lip, her character, Zoë, is a world-weary and roughed-up private investigator with little care for social norms. However, if you want to see the project that put Thompson on the map, look no further than 1987’s Fortunes of War.
What Is the WWII Miniseries ‘Fortunes of War’ About?
This seven-part BBC drama established many of the aspects of Thompson’s acting style that audiences have loved for nearly 40 years, from her pointed strength to her ability to express sadness with just a look. Fortunes of War was the perfect setting for Thompson to shine, as the stakes in this World War II show revolve not around battles or heroic soldiers, but rather her character’s relationship with her husband amid a Europe descending into chaos under Nazi occupation. Not only is Fortunes of War a brilliant piece to look back on in Thompson’s career, but the scale of its production quality rivals any big-budget TV show to this day.
Fortunes of War follows the newlyweds of Thompson’s Harriet and Kenneth Branagh‘s Guy Pringle as they move around Europe trying to avoid the war from 1939 to 1943. In doing so, Fortunes of War shifts the typical audience perspective from the battlefield to those caught in the middle of war and the different reactions to it. Set in Romania, the first episode shows Harriet, Guy, and other Brits laughing off the German threat and joking about how Londoners are only flooding their gardens by digging air-raid shelters. In contrast, Romanian pessimism introduces a sense of realism and foreboding to the atmosphere, which is then mocked by Guy, who insists that the Russians will be the ones to halt Germany’s advance.
As the threat approaches, the characters are increasingly challenged to resist in any way they can, leading to a message that certainly resonates with modern audiences. While Harriet points out how they cannot help everybody, Guy, a university lecturer, wishes to do more than teach, plotting to engage in sabotage against fascist regimes. When one of Guy’s students, Sasha (Harry Burton), who comes from a Jewish family, runs from the Nazis, the Pringles immediately decide to help the young man. We only ever see the war through news clips shown in theaters, but its consequences loom throughout the miniseries as the Pringles travel from Romania to Greece, then Egypt and the Middle East, showing the expansive damage war creates.
The WWII Miniseries ‘Fortunes of War’ Features Some of Emma Thompson’s Best Work
While WWII is certainly the hook of the series, it is the relationship of Harriet and Guy that is the core emotional throughline of Fortunes of War, which is what allows Emma Thompson to shine as brightly as she does. As Harriet, Thompson contrasts Branagh’s expressive optimism with her classic skepticism that is both dry and reassuring. She delivers lines such as “You’re interested in ideas, I’m interested in people. If you were more interested in people, you might not like them so much,” with such eloquence and wit that she dominates nearly every scene. Even when Guy is blowing her off to socialize around Romania or Egypt, Thompson’s pensive stare communicates to the audience that Guy will certainly not get away with this behavior, while also positioning Harriet as the most insightful character in the room.
Thompson’s dryness is also used to comedic effect, which has been seen increasingly in her modern roles such as the most recent Bridget Jones’ Diary and Down Cemetery Road. When someone responds to her question of “did you enjoy that?” about a Romanian performance with a philosophical rationale about Romanian “rage,” she merely responds, “Yes, but did you enjoy it?” and later, when a potential romantic rival, Sophie (Elena Secota), dramatically threatens to jump off a ledge, Harriet bluntly replies “go ahead and jump.” In both scenes, Thompson delivers her line with a comedic timing that builds tension to her response, and the snappy delivery contrasts her adversaries’ verbose dialogue. Here, we see the command Thompson has over the rhythm of a scene and know how to make her presence felt in both comedic and dramatic moments.
Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh’s Sharp WWII Miniseries Is Still Impressive Nearly 40 Years Later
Each episode immerses the audience in different European settings, from shots of gorgeous royal palaces in Bucharest to characters sitting on top of the Pyramids of Giza. In doing so, the scale of the Pringles’ journey is emphasized and feels like an epic tale that does not need action set pieces to feel expansive. Instead, it contrasts the emotive arcs of Harriet and Guy against the backdrop of World War II, making the audience feel the joy and pain when these two love and fight each other. Rather than feeling small, they feel like they are the center of this world as the conflict rages around them.
Despite being almost 40 years old, the WWII show Fortunes of War has aged magnificently thanks to two fabulous performances by Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh. While the scale of the Pringles’ journey may be what draws you into the premise, it is the tension and chemistry they share that keep you glued to your screen. Looking back to where it all began, we can see exactly why Thompson is as beloved as she is to this day and why she is perfect for the dry yet funny Zoë in Down Cemetery Road.
- Release Date
-
1987 – 1986
- Network
-
BBC One
- Directors
-
James Cellan Jones
- Writers
-
Alan Plater