THE BUCCANEERS

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 2 out of 5

Because of: adultery, sexual content, mature elements

Rated:

At the height of the Victorian era, New York Society was trying in every way to emulate their cousins from across the pond. In the center of this social pivot are four young ladies eager to have husbands. Virginia (Alison Eliott) and Nan St. George (Carla Gugino) are the daughters of a Wall Street entrepreneur. They have befriended Conchita (Mia Sorvino), a flighty amoral Spanish girl, and Lizzy Elmsworth (Rya Kihlstedt) another budding socialite. The foursome run wild over the summer months and become the best of friends. With Nan at such a tender age, her parents decide it is time to employ a governess. Laura Testvalley (Cherie Lunghi), an Italian English ladies companion is hired. At first Nan loathes her, but soon Laura's sweet sincerity earns her respect. The two become fast friends. They soon learn that Conchita is engaged to marry an English aristocrat, Lord Richard (Ronan Vilbert). He comes from a prudish upper-class family with rapidly sinking finances and a great old house. 

Richard is the black sheep and his relations heartily disapprove of his match. They loathe "vulgar" Americans, but are nevertheless charmed by Conchita's exotic beauty. After the wedding, her husband returns to his rouge lifestyle of drinking, gambling, and visiting brothels. The St. Georges have determined that the only way to break into society is by first making an impact on London. Laura brings her wards to England and thrusts them head-first into fashionable society. Virginia has caught the eye of Richard's older brother Seadown (Mark Tandy), who secretly keeps a mistress on the cottage at the edge of the property. Nan has also met two young men who provoke her interest... a duke and impoverished young entrepreneur (Greg Wise). Within a year all will be married and their fates will severely change. The plot only complicates when Nan's favorite of the two returns a wealthy man from abroad, and her marriage is suffering beneath neglect.

In the most basic sense this miniseries is a masterpiece of filmmaking. It has absolutely gorgeous costume and musical design and performances are memorable by some very talented young thespians. Cherie Lunghi actually steals the film as the opinionated, forward-thinking governess whom, we discover, the story actually revolves around. There are characters of equal good and evil natures, several unforeseen twists, and a moderately happy conclusion. However, along the way the audience is treated to sexual innuendo, implications of affairs, a marital rape, homosexual elements, and rationalized thinking. The only married couple worth praising is Lizzie and her husband, who remain moral and upstanding while other characters go astray. Conchita implies she will take a lover and eventually does. It's implied Miss Testvalley was once sexually involved with Lord Richard, when she was employed as governess to his sisters. One husband winds up with syphilis. His wife has gone on to other lovers and when she becomes pregnant, aborts the baby. Nan helps her raise the money to do so.

There is a fairly graphic rape and another attempt at a later date, but the young woman bursts into hysterics and her husband flees the room. Conversation revolves around lovers, husbands, love-making, and adultery. One of the sisters conducts an affair with a young man; they run off together and, once her divorce is carried out, marry. Miss Testvalley condones this behavior, and the audience is expected to do the same because, after all, her husband is a tiresome brute and a homosexual to boot -- she walks in to find him asleep with another man. The girls are all very flirtatious and show extravagant amounts of cleavage. All of them smoke "like chimneys," drink on a regular basis, and occasionally swear. There are many minor profanities, British and American alike, along with mild abuse of deity and one GD. Men engage in fistfights, and several times slap their wives. There is no redeeming moral, merely an attempt to pass of bad behavior as justification for having made immature choices.

Divorce was not an easy option in these times, but our heroines either choose to make themselves happy despite their problems, or become unhappy through lack of contentment. As Christians we realize that our choices have consequences and we must live with them, whether or not we live happily ever after.