THE OTHER BENNET SISTER Review: Marriage Or Misery

Much satisfaction can come from looking at a familiar narrative from a neglected angle.

The Other Bennet Sister
The first three episodes premiere Wednesday, May 6, on BritBox in North America. Subsequent episodes in the 10-episode series premiere every Wednesday. I've seen all 10 episodes.

As a middle child myself, I have a great deal of empathy for Mary Bennet, as kindly brought to life by Ella Bruccoleri (Call the Midwife) and writer/producer Sarah Quintrell.

She herself feels that her two older sisters and her two younger sisters all outshine her, either in beauty or deportment. Men flock to them, while they shy away from her, to the utter despair of her mother (Ruth Jones, often scowling) and the bemused disinterest of her father (Richard E. Grant, lovely as usual, often with just an eyebrow raised over his spectacles).

In the time (1830s) and the place (Britain) where Mary lives, this is just how things are, and she accepts it, even as does everyone around her. Since her father failed to sire any male heirs, his estate and all its belongings are due to be inherited by his cousin.

Even though she's been surrounded by wealth all her life, Mary is not terribly concerned by a reduction in her standard of living. Nor is she excessively worried when someone tells her that her fate is "marriage or misery." She has become reconciled to her lowly place in the family. She is glad to be fitted with spectacles so she can spend more time reading, even though her mother frets about it, 100 years before Dorothy Parker wrote poetically that "men seldom makes passes at girls who wear glasses."

If all this sounds somewhat familiar, that's because it's based on Janice Hadlow's novel, which itself is based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, retelling things from Mary's perspective as the overlooked middle-child, uneasy with stranger and awkward in social settings. She is not the polished and charming sister; instead, she is more like me and you.

Well, maybe just me; maybe you're spectacularly well-adjusted, and good for you. For anyone else who has ever felt outclassed and disrespected for some period(s) of life, The Other Bennet Sister rings true, sometimes uncomfortably so.

Mary comes into her own after she moves into the London home of her very kind relatives. Mrs. Gardiner (Indira Varma) is especially welcoming, helping Mary to select a wardrobe, and encouraging her to socialize more, even though she'd rather retire to her room and spend her time reading. As Mary's social circle widens, she becomes acquainted with possible suitors, who each have their own limitations as possible mates.

The production design and costuming of the series are both high points, but they are only window dressing for the pinpint characterizations, tracking Mary's slow growth to what would today be called agency. Ella Bruccoleri's performance is exquisite, capturing changes to her character in her facial expressions and body language.

The release scheme is good, too; the first three episodes, each about 30 minutes or so, are a good introduction to the period and to Mary's change in circumstances; succeeding episodes will be released weekly, which keeps the melodrama from flooding the narrative.

Taken week by week, it's an extremely pleasant show that doesn't have too many sharp edges, yet dispenses measured bites of melancholy recognition.