The Forsyte Saga - Vol. 2 [DVD] [2002]

The second series of The Forsyte Saga, based on John Galsworthy's To Let, moves the story of the sprawling, fractious and aristocratic Forsyte family into the 1920s. The drama shifts to a new generation shouldering the burdensome legacies of an aging Soames (Damian Lewis) and his failed marriage to free-spirited Irene (Gina McKee). The lovely Fleur (Emma Griffiths Malin), Soames' daughter by second wife Annette (Beatriz Batarda), and strapping Jon (Lee Williams), son of Irene and Soames' bohemian cousin, Jolyon (Rupert Graves), develop a romance much to the dismay of their feuding parents. But the long reach of the elder Forsytes' sins--and the tenderness with which they seek redemption through their children--ultimately undercuts the young lovers' happiness.

Meanwhile, sundry characters move in and out of the Forsytes' orbit, including a French businessman (Michael Maloney) stirring more troubles for Soames, and an art dealer (Oliver Milburn) with designs on Fleur. As with Series 1, all this will feel familiar to anyone who has seen the 26-part, 1967 version; yet this updated effort renews and redefines the Forsytes' overlapping tragedies, with a more interior feel and a first-rate contemporary cast. As with its legendary predecessor, this Forsyte Saga depends heavily on the seemingly soulless Soames' slow evolution to humanity; Damian Lewis carries the load brilliantly. --Tom Keogh