Review of "Affinity"

I'm really looking forward to this. Great book. Lets hope for a great movie as well.

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I also read the book and thought it was terrific, with a lot atmosphere and mystery. I'll watch this film but I don't have high expectations since I disliked both "Fingersmith" and "Tipping the Velvet" adaptations.

From the description it seems like the same camera work used in the Dickens's "Bleak House" adaptation with Gillian Anderson and, at least there, it worked surprisingly well.

Personally I though the book's pace was much too slow, perhaps they tried to make up for that fact by putting the movie's plot on hyperspeed.

 Tipping the Velvet was one of my all-time favorite books but I did not really enjoy the video version. Hopefully Affinity does not disapoint as well.

"He thought death didn't know his name" ~ The Kropotkins

Kept me guessing right until the end! Be interesting to see how it translates onto TV, especially as the book is fairly slow paced. I loved the fingersmith adaptation but wasn't so keen on TTV.

Now all that is lef is The Night Watch! That would make a good adaptation I think.

And the road stretched on like an angry woman...

I heart Sarah Waters and I have thoroughly enjoyed the first two books and movies, so I am sure I will love Affinity as well.

I agree, this story is quite different from the other two, but I don't think that is a bad thing.

Does anyone know when it will be shown on BBC or have I missed it already? 

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I've read all of her books up to now, some of them with one sitting, unable to close the book and wait for the next day to find out what happens. Her writing is effortless and it literally transfers you to the era and the emotions of her characters. Always a journey filled with anticipation, excitement, suspense....and with Affinity an amazing ending. It got me so worked up and mad....yet at the same time it was refreshing that I didn't get the ending that was so obvious to have.

Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith were of course better to read, but I wasn't too disappointed in the series/movie adaptation. I hope Affinity reflects the images I have created in my mind from the book, with the ones offered by the series.

Movies aside, we need more books for Sarah Waters and more writers like Sarah Waters.

I agree with an above commentator that the book is both brilliantly written and one of the most depressing things I've ever read*, and not being a fan of depressing stuff, it ranks at the bottom in a ranking of Sarah Waters novels for me (Fingersmith at the top).

Having said that, I'll probably watch this (when ITV deign to show it), because it's good to show willing, right? And it might convince somebody to make The Night Watch (preferably the BBC, so it'd have a chance of being more than 90 minutes long).

Oh, whilst this may not have Sally Hawkins in it (and thus, obviously, not being a proper Waters adaptation :P**), those of you who like connections might like to know that Zoe Tapper was in the BBC's adaptation of Patrick Hamilton's 20,000 Streets Under the Sky alongside Hawkins (sort-of, anyway; their characters never really interacted, if at all)***.

*Like a book version of Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence (and yes, I know that's based on a short story, but I haven't read it, so don't know if it's both brilliant and depressing).

**I've never really been au fait with smileys, so I hope that's the right one for taking the piss.

***Being a massive Hawkins fan, I've probably mentioned this before, so apologies to anybody unlucky enough to have read any previous posts to that effect. It just goes to show how boring and repetitious you can be when you do nothing but watch television all day.

i do not discriminate. i just ignore certain people.

I love the book and the film of Fingersmith , it's awesome and i hope i can read this book as well as watching the film on youtube

...in my mind anyway.

I enjoyed the film adaptation of Fingersmith quite a lot (having loved that book more than all her others), but Tipping the Velvet was a bit too theatrically done in the film version (again an unbelievable book though).

I'm very interested to see this film because although it took me ages to read Affinity because it was so slow at times, I ultimately loved the book.

What I am most interested in is a film adaptation of The Night Watch which is BY FAR Sarah Waters' greatest book to date. The opportunity for them to recreate the Blitz in London, and have a barrage of gay women characters with really fleshed out storylines is SO exciting.

~Renée

I can't wait to see this movie.

Sarah Waters is indeed one of my fave storytellers. I read Affinity after Fingersmith (which I read after Tipping the Velvet) and I was floored by how good it was (depressing!) but so good.  It read like one long beautiful, gothic poem to me.  This movie looks dark with an aura of mystery that is true to the original story. I can't wait ... I'll be pre-ordering this from Amazon, release date: early August.

Cheers for the review!

~Lucise.

"For its minor faults, the film is quite engaging and works better as a mystery than a romance".
I think this is because it is more of a mystery than a romance. I also don't think it can be compared to Tipping the Velvet. It is totally different ie. romance, drama, vs. mystery, romance. 

However, the women share a bizarre chemistry that feels a bit hit or miss — a possible aftereffect of the pacing and Selina's unclear intentions.
I also thought that the women's chemistry was off sometimes, but I really think that it was because of  Selina's unclear intentions  than the pace of the film. I remember thinking that the women's chemistry was a bit unbalanced, even when reading the book as well. So, I think the film captured the mood and tone of the book perfectly...

I also agree with the other commentors that the book's pace was slow but enjoyable. However, this is not the same for the film. The pace was much quicker and it really pulls you in. All in all, I think it was an excellent adaptation of the book. And I daresay some might even find the film version more enjoyable...

I feel similarly. The film works much better as a mystery than it does a romance, and the pacing boggled me a bit. The important moments were there, but it felt uneven. The performances, however, were amazing. Tapper reminds me a bit of Keeley Hawes in Tipping, actually. The costuming was as to be expected, but some of the settings were obviously false (though I imagine their budget was limited.) The movie was entertaining, suspenseful, and it did bring me to tears. I'm prone to them, however.

Affinity is not my favorite of Waters' books, mostly because of the tone, but this is a faithful and well executed adaptation. It's a glad addition to Tipping and Fingersmith.

read the book a while ago. got so into it. 'yearning' & 'desperation'; 2 words to describe the storyline. can't wait to see it on screen!

p.s. the ending.......wow!

I have enjoyed other Sarah Waters adaptations so i'm hoping this one will be just as good!

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I love Sarah Waters' books as well as Andrew Davies' adaptations.  They're different, but both are great.  I am such a fan of the BBC Victorian drama!

And I love Keeley Hawes, too!  I've put everything she's in in my Netflix queue.  :swoon:

I'm definitely hesitant about watching this adaptation, because I clearly remember feeling like shite for days after reading Affinity a while back, haha. Loved it though.

Aaalso, as much as I liked The Night Watch, I can't really see it being a film. Unlike a complete thriller like Fingersmith which (in my eyes) transferred beautifully onto the screen, I think The Night Watch would end up being a huge "WTF" moment to anyone who hadn't read the novel beforehand.

I for one will be tuning into this. This was my least favourite of her books mainly because of the lack of physical interaction but it was very good as a mystery novel. In my opinion the two Sarah Walters adaptations (TTV and Fingersmith) were very well made and I myself loved them. OK so one of the reasons i liked TTV so much was Keeley Hawes!! I will be looking forward to The Night Watch if it gets adapted for TV.

Kim xx

oooh i really want to see this! but i'm not sure about the 'chaotic pace'.... i thought the way sarah waters paced the book was amazing, all slow and understated until everything fell apart and SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE. it was just - wow. hope this one's better than TTV and Fingersmith, which i thought were good but not great, even with keeley hawes and elaine cassidy ;)

Read the book a couple of years ago.  It was intriguing, mystical, a page-turner, I was rooting for the protagonists ... and then I GOT KICKED IN THE HEAD BY THAT ATOMIC ENDING!!!!

Sarah Waters ... I have a love/hate relationship with this book; the kind of which I haven't had since I read - threw across the room because it made me so mad, but still loved - JUDE THE OBSCURE.

We'll see if I can face AFFINITY.  Although I did find it a better book than the one she wrote about the ambulance drivers and the gay guys in prison during WWII's blitzkrieg of London.  I think its called THE NIGHTWATCH - I found it so-so. 

I really loved this book.  One of my faves ever I think and I was REALLY looking forward to watching the movie.....but I was really dissapointed, it pales in comparison. 

Haven't read TTV or Fingersmith but loved the tv adaptations and now I may have to read the books. If they are anything like Affinity I'm not going to like the movies any more.

So much was missed out. really important stuff and somethings changed e.g a whole new character had been added. The main characters weren't as belieable as they had been in my own mind, the acting was a bit off too.  Perhaps it was because ITV did this one and not the BBC, they seem to be better at that sort of programme. Maybe I should have watched then read the book.

Let me know what you think as I could be way off base. 

Did they show it in the UK?  Cause I know they're not going to release the DVD until it's shown on ITV.  So they keep pushing the date back.  I was just wondering if you saw on tv.

i have to say when i read the book i got so confused that i had to read it about 3 times just to understand the intial plot line...haha people are going to think im so thick, but still i cant wait to see it when it come onto itv, im hoping the show will make it clearer..although im hoping itv dnt wreck it since fingersmith and tipping the velvet were bbc.

Oh man, I hate to be a naysayer but...

First off... I haven't read the book, and probably won't now, because that ending was bad for my mental health. I'm trying not to let that colour how I felt about the production itself though. However, I imagine it probably is, heh.

I guessed the ending, pretty much as soon as I saw that matron's ridiculously lugubrious face peering through Selina's cell peephole in every other scene, and the old maid's sudden departure was a little obvious.

The "Battlestar" type zooming didn't add much to the pacing for me. I think they were just trying to give it a stylized look, much like Tipping the Velvet had. I seem to recall the 2005 production of Bleak House using the "Battlestar" effect more consistantly. Additionally, I couldn't stop looking at Selina's terrible wig! It was *so* bad. In fact, a lot of the fake hair in the film seemed pretty terrible. The man that was vying for Margaret's attention looked like he was wearing a sick cat on his face. It was actually *distracting* to me. Perhaps I'm just used to the more lavish BBC productions.

I felt the film wasn't intense enough to be a good love story and not really clever enough to be a good mystery. Perhaps that was one of the challenges of adapting the book?

So, LOGO has been promoting Affinity for its "hot summer nights" series. However, I can't find an air date. Does anybody have a clue as to when it will be on? Thanks!

BTW, I just finished the book and while I really enjoyed the "meat" of the book, I felt that the end left a lot to be desired. I guess not every book has a happy ending.

I have da movie & I love it, its really REALLY good. Wasnt sure wen I 1st got it, thought it was gonna b borin, but I got in2 it very quickly.

A must c if u ask me :)

"We shall enjoy it ... As for he who finds fault ... May sadness and silliness take him!" - Sappho

I just finished watching the movie and it was really well done and a good movie overall. But with all that said I will not be watching it again, too damn depressing. I feel like cutting my wrists. From the comments I take it that the book is the equally if not more depressing so I will pass on that too.

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I thought it was really bad, personally.  The choices that Andrew Davies made were awful, I can't even begin to describe how disappointed I was.  The entire essence of the book was not captured at all, and I didn't believe the whole "affinity" thing one bit. 

I found that the reason Margaret allowed herself to get caught up in this whole world of twilight and seances was because she was so broken up about Helen, and the medicine she took had clouded her judgment.  Margaret was a train wreck of a character, having been motivated by her own grief, but the movie just made her look stupid.  Instead of portraying the character that was (brilliantly) written by Sarah Waters, this other Andrew Davies creation appeared, and that's where the movie lost its point.  Because the driving force behind the whole story was Margaret's grief.  And we have to understand that before we can understand why she did what she did.  There was hardly any of that in the movie.  I can't say it was directed very well either.  And it looks like there wasn't a whole lot of money spent on the production.

Ugh.  I didn't think it would be *this* bad.  So disappointed.

ETA:  Anna and Zoe were wonderful, as were most of the actors.  It was everything else that fell short.

I watched fingersmith and TTV.I found TTV annoying(maybe the book was better) and fingersmith was brillant.

She's got a thing for that time period...

Granted I didn't read Affinity before I watched the film and maybe I would have liked the story or the film more if I had. Ha-ha... I really enjoyed and loved both TTV and Fingersmith. With that, I was let down by this story. It was very dark, mysterious, there wasn't what I was expecting at all. I hope it's a better read then what I watched. I wanted to like it, I normally love all she does, but the development could have been better and more emotion, lingering, just something was missing for me.

-Rachel 

I loved the book. Though, of course, the ending was totally unsettling. The movie, however, was terrible. Too much was left out, or added. Margaret had no depth, she seemed only foolish (due to the writing, the acting wasn't so bad). In the book, it's easier to understand the reasons that she let herself be led on. Fingersmith is the only adaptation thus far, that hasn't completely fallen short of the mark. Tipping the Velvet was just too cheesy.

Read the book. Skip the film.

Am I the only sour cherry on the fruitstand?

The book is one of my favourites; read it 3 times. I hope the movie has room for my own images too...;-)

I really liked the book Affinity, though not as much as Tipping the Velvet (I fell in love with Kitty, what can i say?)

However, for some reason I never felt any emotional attachment to the character of Margaret, so i didn't care as much as I should when it came to the crisis point. it will be interesting to see if the film makes me feel any different.

I worked in a Victorian gaol for a while (in costume as alternately a warder and a prisoner) so I'll be checking the historical details - Sarah Waters got them bang on!

I saw it last night and fell in love with it
i think Zoe Tapper is incredible in it
it's gonna be on ITV on the 28th December