The Pursuit of Love《追愛》

尤安·富蘭克林

Many of the best period dramas are social satires， beautifully disguised. Nancy Mitfords interwar classic The Pursuit of Love goes further： mirthfully and tragically dismantling the very idea of love among the British upper classes. Relic actor Emily Mortimer writes， directs， produces， and stars in this new BBC adaptation， which feels much more liberated than the regular output of stiff， Austenian scenarios.

Were between the World Wars， following the lives of the sensibly shy Fanny （Emily Beecham） and her passionately extroverted best friend Linda （Lily James）. As teenagers， they discuss their romantic fantasies of bagging1 the Prince of Wales or the local farmer： their imaginations confined to the family manor， Alconleigh. Once their adolescence reaches adulthood， they pursue more realistic options—but Linda never lets go of her fairytale perceptions of love.

The very English social fears ripple through， but the lavish Jazz Age atmosphere spills with cocktails and parties and a rockin soundtrack. Mortimer pursues a more modern， sexy， and freewheeling style： painted with entertaining freeze frames and calligraphic titles2， skirting3 the likeness of a Baz Luhrmann film.

But unlike Luhrmann， Mortimer doesnt dance enough in that world and creates a scattered pace that arbitrarily brakes and accelerates. Some characters are even left stranded4 at the side， with little context around them. The series wouldve benefited from another episode， just to dwell in that company for longer and understand them better.

Lily James （The Dig） plays the fun and flighty5 Linda， who is， by far， the most open and radiant member of the Radlett family. Fanny narrates her life， dictating Mitfords funny and delectable prose. Their friendship is the stuff of dreams， an unbreakable bond that endures so many aches and never falters. But Linda doesnt fully appreciate that， choosing instead to ‘aspire to true love， the kind which only comes once in a lifetime and lasts forever.

These unreasonable aspirations engender relationships with a stuffy conservative （The Crowns Freddie Fox）， a serious socialist （Creation Stories6 James Frecheville）， and a Parisian playboy （Call My Agents Assaad Bouab）. Its easy to mock Linda， especially considering the grown-up company around her， but you cant help but fall in love with her childish ideals.

James carries Lindas anxieties beautifully， keeping a perfectly composed face in front of others but often breaking in their absence. She has a frustrating yet infectious energy， which spreads to her friends and family—even her comically traditional and furiously xenophobic7 father （brilliantly played by Dominic West）.

Jamess sunny limelight is almost stolen by the glorious Andrew Scott， who plays the attractively eccentric Lord Merlin. Hes Linda and Fannys first encounter with the bohemian lifestyle， filled with booze and art and creative abandon—releasing the women from the rigor mortis8 of Radlett living. Its a shame there isnt more of him， as he provides a spirited9 voice of reason in Lindas life.

Although these characters come and go quickly， to the series detriment10， you come to love all their vivacious personalities. The Pursuit of Love is a short， sharp and opulent shot of the interwar social scene. Its richly charming， but annoyingly scattered—much like Linda.

許多最優(yōu)秀的年代劇都是社會諷刺作品，只是不易察覺。南?！っ滋馗５乱砸粦?zhàn)和二戰(zhàn)之間為時代背景的經(jīng)典作品《追愛》則尤為入木三分：通過歡笑與悲劇，拆解了英國上流階層的愛情觀。在BBC改編的這部新版短劇中，出演《遺落家庭》的埃米莉·莫蒂默身兼編劇、導演、制片和主演，讓這個版本與一貫較為刻板的奧斯汀式場景不同，令人感覺大為開放。

我們跟著鏡頭來到兩次世界大戰(zhàn)之間。故事講述了靦腆而理智的范妮（埃米莉·比徹姆飾）和其好友，性格熱烈外向的琳達（莉莉·詹姆斯飾）兩人的生活。在十幾歲的時候，她們就討論彼此的浪漫幻想，臆想把威爾士親王或那個當?shù)剞r民據(jù)為己有：她們的想象僅限于居住的阿爾康利莊園。一滿十八周歲，兩人就開始追尋更為現(xiàn)實的對象——但琳達從未拋棄對于愛情的童話式幻想。

當時的英國社會涌動著對于戰(zhàn)爭的恐懼，但觥籌交錯的雞尾酒會和派對，搭配搖滾樂背景，展現(xiàn)爵士樂時代的紙醉金迷，沖淡了這種氛圍。莫蒂默利用逗趣的定格及在熒幕上投放書法字體的演職員表，采用一種更具現(xiàn)代性、更加性感迷人、也更為不拘一格的風格，有點像巴茲·呂爾曼的電影。

但莫蒂默并未像呂爾曼那樣充分展現(xiàn)上流世界的浮華，而是使得劇情忽而停滯忽而快進，節(jié)奏雜亂無章。有些人物甚至被擱置一旁，不知來龍去脈。這部劇如果再加一集可能會更好，至少讓那群人在屏幕上停留的時間更久一點，對他們的了解更全面一些。

莉莉·詹姆斯（此前出演《發(fā)掘》）飾演搞笑善變的琳達，顯然是拉德列特家族最為坦率單純、熱情洋溢的成員。范妮敘說琳達的生活，言語中讓人感受到米特福德幽默迷人的文筆。兩位主角的友情是夢想賴以存在的基礎，是歷經(jīng)磨難始終不渝的牢固情感。但琳達并未充分意識到這一點，反而“渴望追求真愛，那種一生只能遇到一次卻可永世長存的愛”。

正是基于這種不切實際的幻想，琳達經(jīng)歷了幾段戀情，分別是和古板的保守派（出演《王冠》的弗雷迪·?？怂癸棧瑖烂C的社會主義者（出演《CREATION唱片：顛倒傳奇》的詹姆斯·弗雷舍維爾飾），以及巴黎的花花公子（出演《找我經(jīng)紀人》的阿薩德·布阿卜飾）。嘲笑琳達不難，尤其考慮到她身邊的那些成年人，但你還是會忍不住愛上她天真的理想。

莉莉·詹姆斯出色地表現(xiàn)了琳達的焦慮：人前維持一臉鎮(zhèn)定，卻常在人后崩潰。琳達精力充沛，雖讓人懊惱不滿，卻又富于感染力，朋友和家人均受其影響，甚至連她那古板到可笑，同時又極端憎恨外國人的父親（由多米尼克·韋斯特精彩演繹）也不例外。

安德魯·斯科特扮演行事古怪但富有魅力的梅林勛爵，表現(xiàn)搶眼，差點蓋住了詹姆斯所飾開朗主角的光芒。梅林讓琳達和范妮初次見識了放蕩不羈的生活方式：終日痛飲，醉心藝術，肆意放縱，把兩位姑娘從拉德列特家族的死氣沉沉中解放出來。劇中未對梅林有更多刻畫，這不免讓人遺憾，畢竟他是琳達生活中堅定理性力量的來源。

盡管這些人物匆匆登場又匆匆退場，影響了全劇效果，但你最終會愛上他們朝氣蓬勃的個性?！蹲窅邸氛故玖藘纱未髴?zhàn)之間的社會場景，體量短小但影像清晰、場面華麗，足夠引人入勝，但劇情散漫凌亂，令人惱火，這點堪比琳達。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）