Falling for a Dancer

Its not often I find a good miniseries I haven't seen yet. I try to find something new but it seems nothing will come close to Pride and Prejudice and BBC's North and South. I was pleasantly surprised, however, by Falling for a Dancer. The storyline is almost a mix between Pride and Prejudice and Tess of the D'Urbervilles. The main character, Elizabeth, becomes pregnant out of wedlock. Her choices are limited. Her mother won't allow her to stay at home and Elizabeth refuses to stay in a church run institution. Her only remaining choice is to marry an older man since she won't "do the right thing" and marry the father. The story follows her relationship with her stepchildren, the conflicts with her abusive and possessive husband, a brief infatuation with a younger man, and her rocky relationship with her neighbor, Mossie.


The miniseries is a bit bleak, but it isn't as depressing as Tess. Its hard watch what Elizabeth is put through when her family turns their backs on her. The men in this aren't prizes - with the exception of Mossie. Her first love is nothing more than an overgrown child; her husband never sees her as a person; and Danny is too much of a child to understand that a dance is just a dance. Throughout the entire miniseries, her relationship with her female friends, children, father, and eventually Mossie are the only things which keep her sane amidst all the heartache. It does end well for Elizabeth, even though there are several casualties along the way.

I don't know what it was about this miniseries which really struck me, but it made me feel the same way I do when watching Tess of the D'Urbervilles. I love the Tess miniseries which came out last year (and, of course, the book also). I love it in particular because of what Hardy chose to subtitle it - A Pure Woman. The story of Falling for a Dancer could earn a similar title. Elizabeth is always loyal to her husband and she tries desperately to make her marriage work. He, however, calls her a slut, beats, and rapes her. Elizabeth does her best in a horrible situation where she is continually reminded her youthful indiscretions. Towards the end of the miniseries, she goes to the priest to tell him that one of her stepdaughters is pregnant. He refers to the girl being "in trouble" but Elizabeth tells him that she is simply pregnant and that she will be cared for by her family. That is the pivotal moment of the story for me. Elizabeth loves her stepdaughter in spite of her mistakes, something her own family was not willing to do for her. The reactions of Angel Clare and Elizabeth's family to a ruined woman are common in stories set in the 18th and 19th centuries. It isn't common, however, to see these women as flawed yet incredibly strong heroines - this is exactly what Tess and Falling for a Dancer do. I like that.

Falling for a Dancer is set in WWII Ireland and stars Elisabeth Dermot Walsh, Dermot Crowley, Liam Cunningham, and Colin Farrell.