The following is commentary on Episode No. 31 ("I Wanted to Be with You") from members of AFAMILYATWAR-LIST. If you wish to add your thoughts to what is being said on this page, become a part of our discussion group by clicking the "Join" button.
Richard Veit
The final phase in the slow progression
of Jean Ashton's illness commands most of the screen time in this reflective
episode, but there are just enough bits of subtle humour and character study
to balance the scales and maintain our rapt attention throughout. A continuing
sub-plot takes us again to London, where profligate son David treats his self-described
"animal" appetites to all forms of gratification with Grace Gould.
Shelagh Fraser, as Jean, evinces more raw emotion in "I Wanted to Be
with You" than she allowed herself to show in the previous episodes.
Normally so understated, even to a fault, her portrayal here conveys the frightening
prospect of a woman whose failing mind threatens to isolate her from those
she loves. Her poignant nostalgia and grief seem to issue from within, a far
cry from those counterfeit "stage tears" that inferior actors ask
us to accept. Jean Ashton is a subdued personality, often frustratingly so,
with unfinished sentences and unspoken thoughts, but in this, her penultimate
appearance in the series, she truly comes into her own.
David's perfidy is well documented, of course, but his overindulgence with
the uninhibited Grace satiates even his considerable taste for physical passion.
"You're not going to be any good for me in the end, are you, Grace?"
he asks. Struck by unaccustomed guilt, he suddenly hopes that Sheila does
not think of him in a cheap way because, as he tells Grace, "it's not
nice, not the way I was brought up." This does not turn David around
entirely, but the stage is set for him to show some positive, redeeming values
in the episode to come.
Some random comments about "I Wanted to Be with You"...
The black-and-white photography lends a certain stark imagery that is not
out of place with the subject matter. Though I would never suggest that all
fifty-two episodes should have been shot in this manner, those eight which
were produced in monochrome do not suffer much in comparison. The eye soon
adjusts, and, as I have stated before, there is an agreeable "film noir"
look to them.
The voice-over sequence, when Jean is viewing her childhood home, is quite
effective. So, too, is director Baz Taylor's transition between Jean's remembrance
of her late son and the cut to Robert's framed photo. It is creative touches
such as these that make "A Family at War" so special.
I wonder where those scenes of bombed-out "Liverpool" structures
(seen in several of the episodes) were shot by the camera crews. Surely no
war-torn sections remained as late as the early 1970s.
The American, Captain Mark Dewar, is a sympathetic figure -- thankfully not
the "overpaid, oversexed, and over here" stereotype as seen in so
many lesser productions. While John Higgins's oddly nasal American accent
may be a little overdone, I find his character to be very likeable, and it
is refreshing to hear him say of his wife in America, "Yeh, I miss her
like hell." Definitely not the libertine rubbish to which most screenwriters
resort.
Sefton Briggs is very compassionate with his ailing sister, and this shows
a softer side of this crusty but complex man.
In such formidable company, two powerful scenes might easily be overlooked.
One is when Edwin is in the attic, hearing Philip chase Freda, and he recalls
happier times when the children were young. Another is when Freda, without
thinking, blurts out to Philip that Margaret had a still-born baby while John
was away. The timing of this tricky dialogue is handled very deftly by Barbara
Flynn, at a critical moment where any false step would have been ruinous.
Instead, her delivery was entirely convincing.
While I am on the subject of Barbara Flynn, I must say that she proves herself
many times over to be a fine comedic actress: when she attempts to remove
her stocking in front of Philip (and, it so happens, Ian McKenzie), when she
converses with Margaret about her mysterious lover, when she jokes with John
about Clark Gable and her weakness for older men, when she hammers Philip
with an "empty" purse, and, not least, when she suggests that they
cancel the birthday party "because Mum will sit there throughout with
a face like the Rock of Gibraltar, with Dad trying to look as if he'd won
the Irish Sweeps." Marvelous dialogue, as always, from John Finch.
I cannot help but wonder whether there was some additional footage in the
London dinner club that included actress Wendy Gerrard. She is listed in the
credits as a WAAF, but we only see a brief glimpse of her at the table with
David. Certainly, she seems far too pretty for David not to have spoken to
her, so I suspect that a bit of flirtation may have ended up on the cutting-room
floor.
John Tomlinson
Richard wonders where the scenes of bombed-out Liverpool were filmed. I don't know for sure but I would suggest that the many terraced streets of Manchester which were being bulldozed at the time would have been more than suitable. The so-called slum clearances were at their peak and I can well recall as a small child being driven past seas of rubble and half standing buildings which looked for all the world like a bomb site. Perfect for such scenes as in this episode and right on Granada's doorstep as well!
