This is the first-ever website dedicated solely to Sally Hawkins, the British rising star who has wowed us in a variety of roles in film, TV and theatre.
All information mentioned here is derived from extensive researches via the internet, printed publications, and personal encounters.
SALLY HAWKINS
Fingersmith
(Synopsis & Reviews)
Adapted from the novel by Sarah Waters (Tipping the Velvet). London, 1862. A young orphan named Susan Trinder (Sally Hawkins) grows up amongst the petty thieves known as Fingersmiths, under the guidance of Mrs Suckerby (Imelda Staunton). One evening, Richard 'The Gentleman' Rivers (Rupert Evans) pays them a visit. Rivers has an elaborate plan to defraud the wealthy heiress, Maud Lilly (Elaine Cassidy). Susan agrees to help for a cut of the money, and is quickly installed as Maud's maid. Upon arriving, she discovers that Maud is virtually a prisoner in her own house, as Uncle Christopher (Charles Dance) controls every detail of her life. As the plan begins to unfold, Susan finds herself developing an intimate relationship with the lady of the house...
Critics' Reviews: (#1)
The BBC's second adaptation from Sarah Waters' oeuvre of lesbian Victoriana boasts an elaborate plot involving a girl brought up as a secretary by her sinister uncle, who insists that she wear white gloves in order to work in his very specialist library. A ruthless conman and his more sympathetic accomplice are about to turn her life upside down. In contrast to the state-enforced exposure of French schoolgirls' ears, however, the removal of the gloves in the first episode of Fingersmith had the more traditional connotation of liberation and transgression of social mores.
Having said that, Fingersmith is less self-consciously racy than
Tipping the Velvet. The two leads Sally
Hawkins and Elaine Cassidy are less obvious, if I can say that, than the actresses in
Tipping the Velvet, but both are wonderfully
expressive, bringing their extraordinary characters convincingly to life. Fingersmith has the authentic feel of a period
adaptation, and the lesbian theme doesn't feel forced. Indeed, the fact that lesbianism was not an 'issue' in Victorian Britain frees
the drama of the burden of being 'issue-based'. Instead, we simply follow the characters as they feel their way through the remarkable
plot.
~
Dolan Cummings
Critics' Reviews: (#2)
With an intriguingly knotty plot - ostensibly concerning a wily conman, a tormented young heiress and the impoverished pickpocket who poses as her maid - and excellent performances from its two young leads, Sally Hawkins and Elaine Cassidy, ably assisted by Rupert Evans, Fingersmith makes handsome, entertaining viewing. ~ Benjamin Secher, Telegraph
Critics' Reviews: (#3)
Like Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith is a story of lesbian love, deceit and betrayal set in Victorian England. The adaptation begins by highlighting the very different upbringings of two young women: Sue (Sally Hawkins) the teenage orphan who is trained as a fingersmith (slang for a petty thief, or pick-pocket) by the crime boss who takes her in; and Maud (Elaine Cassidy), the privileged but repressed member of high society set to inherit a small fortune from her father.
Sue's humorous, free manner contrasts sharply with Maud's constricted seriousness. Elaine Cassidy seems comfortable in the role, displaying repressed emotion through a stony countenance, loosening only when laughing at Sue's jokes, or dancing with her. The actress's greatest achievement early on in the movie is to hint at the better scenes to come, when Maud will finally be able to begin to let go of her seemingly emotionless character.
In many reviews, Sally Hawkins has been highlighted as the actress who shines, and it's not hard to see why. Her expressive face successfully communicates a range of emotions throughout the whole episode (most probably throughout the whole series.) She brings subtle comedy to the scene where Sue, an illiterate Londoner, is getting exasperated at learning how to dress a lady (using a chair as a prop), or when gazing upon the "mile after bleeding mile" of countryside. Even in the short snippets where Sue practices her curtsey, we are forced to smile.
Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Sucksby, the woman who takes in Sue after she's orphaned and trains her in the art of deception, and Rupert Evans as the Gentleman (aka Mr. Rivers), round out the cast of characters at the heart of this drama.
Evans and Hawkins play off each other well as initial partners-in-crime. Sue often looks as though she is on the verge of rolling her eyes when hearing Gentleman's slimy comments to Maud, adding to both the tension and the comic relief.
Elaine Cassidy demonstrates the true depth of Maud's character beneath her brittle exterior, as Maud shows the full extent of her love for Sue despite the betrayal. Sally Hawkins, in turn, demonstrates her excellent ability, particularly in a scene in which Sue is imploring the doctors to look after Maud.
Rupert Evans continues to be one-dimensional, and Imelda Staunton continues to seem more humorous than sinister. The scenes in the lunatic asylum were also incredibly short, once again relying on the viewer having read the book, or at least being content to be confused. ~ Emma Ashelford, AfterEllen.com
Our Reviews:
Not having read the book by Sarah Waters before watching the TV adaptation of "Fingersmith," I was intrigued by its rich plot & subplot involving virtually all of the characters, primary or secondary. Being one of those who love seeing the Victorian, Dickensian era brought to life on-screen, I was immediately enthralled by the costume designs, the art decor, the overall hue of the movie, and most interestingly, the verbal and non-verbal articulation of individuals at that particular time. So far, the BBC hasn't disappointed and I appreciate their continued efforts to bringing quality TV to its viewers around the world.
The story of lies, deceit & betrayal in "Fingersmith" is depicted with such conviction by a group of talented actors that for 3 hours of our viewing time, we were transported to the Dickensian times in suspended belief, engrossed in the lives of these characters. Sally Head Productions, who also produced yet another Sarah Waters adaptation, "Tipping The Velvet," 3 years ago, which received critical acclaim, has done it again with "Fingersmith," only better this time! First of all, apart from Peter Ransley's tightly-written script, the brilliant casting of its characters is the key to the success of this adaptation. Picking 2 rising stars from Britain, Sally Hawkins & Elaine Cassidy, who play the 2 principle characters, Sue Trinder and Maud Lilly, respectively, is utterly genius because they've successfuly breathed life to their characters with their excellent performances, subsequently allowing us to overlook their individual flaws and start empathizing with their own selfish reasons for tricking and trapping each other.
Hawkins' Sue is brought up in the House of Thieves but adopts a happy and care-free spirit which is forever changed when she agrees to get involved with Richard Rivers aka "Gentleman"'s (played exquisitely by Rupert Evans) evil plot to swindle an heiress' fortune. We see her dilemma when she expresses fear in being caught and hung by the authorities, yet Hawkins is able to seamlessly switch from that frame of mind to the strength of determination that derives from wanting to please her surrogate mother, Mrs. Sucksby (played by the incomparable Imelda Staunton), so desperately. Where Hawkins shines as Sue is not just how she speaks but how her unspoken facial expressions and body language are able to grasp the constant angst, guilt, desire & despair, not forgetting a sense of mischief as well, that Sue always feels no matter who she interacts with, be it with Maud, Mrs. Sucksby, Mr. Rivers or Charles, Mr. Lilly, Mrs. Stiles or even the doctors and nurses in the madhouse! By the first quarter of the movie, Sally Hawkins is Sue Trinder, period. Hawkins' best moments worth mentioning are her riveting performance in these unforgettable scenes: 1) the struggle scene outside the madhouse when Sue finally realizes that Maud has been in on the plot in the beginning and immediately starts screaming, kicking and cursing, at the same time, a look of disbelief and defeat of being betrayed; 2) the scene where Sue pretends that she's recovered, responding to Dr. Christie in such a heartbreakingly anguished voice that we can literally hear her teeth grinding as a result of trying to hold down her anger. And when she's being asked to write her name on the board, we see her face immediately contorts to into desperation and fear. All these facial expressions in one single close-up shot! 3) the scene where she tip-toes toward the door to escape when Nurse Bacon suddenly springs up & barks at her, asking where she is going & Sue who's trembling in fear now can only utter the word "p-p-p-e-e-e" - Bravo! 4) the scene where she tells Dr. Christie & Dr. Graves to take good care of Maud when she finally realizes what she's actually going to do to the woman whom she's in love with & breaks down in teary sobs. It was excruciatingly painful and heartbreaking to watch her in such a state of despair.
All in all, Sally Hawkins' has once again managed to make the Sue Trinder character hers and hers alone. When you see Sally Hawkins, you see Sue Trinder, not Sally Hawkins playing Sue Trinder. There's no one else who can play Sue ever so convincingly after seeing Hawkins play her. For me, what is so captivating about Hawkins' acting skills is her ability to convey the character on-screen merely by using her facial expressions & body language. Dialogue for Hawkins is merely a prop to support the story her face has already told. Now this acting skill is hard to achieve but once again, Hawkins has proven that she's one of the few actors out there who can do this so seamlessly, it's like 2nd nature to her! Superb and utterly astounding performance!
Elaine Cassidy's portrayal of the cold, ultra-repressed, unemotional Maud Liily is another perfect performance from the multi-talented young Irish actor. I was utterly blown away by her top notch performance as Maud whose character needs to transform from a seemingly sweet, shy, innocent and ultra-repressed young woman to an expressive, emotional, and full of desire human being. Maud is truly spellbound by happy, free-spirited Sue, who, prior to Sue's entrance into her life, was leading a virtually dead life, completely void of any joy, love or normal human interaction outside of the bleak existence she was imprisoned in. Sue's presence in her life teaches her the meaning of happiness, laughter and emotional depth of the soul. This opens up Maud's repressed feelings and the desire to love. Slowly, we see Maud beginning to display her inner emotions more and more openly. Boy, did Cassidy nail the part, to say the least! Like Hawkins, Elaine Cassidy's facial expressions are brilliant. There are many human emotions and intricacies that can't simply be put in words, which is a blessing for Cassidy who does her non-verbal acting performance ever so perfectly, particularly her eyes that speak volumes. Another excellent casting job because Elaine Cassidy is Maud Lilly right down to her simple but intense stares, her poignant delivery of her dialogue. Additionally, the beautiful chemistry between Sally Hawkins & Elaine Cassidy just oozes out on the TV screen every time they play off of each other in their scenes which makes their on-screen relationship even more believable and realistic to the viewers. One word to describe Cassidy's performance - Exquisite!
Watching Imelda Staunton as the greedy, heartless gang leader of thieves was like an out-of-body experience for me because I only just saw her in "Vera Drake" in which she totally transformed herself into the good-hearted, harmless, petite middle-aged woman. However, in "Fingersmith," Staunton manages to transform herself again into another richly written character who only thinks about succeeding in her deceitful scheme and will do anything to get it including betraying her own surrogate daughter, Sue; but when tragedy strikes, we realize that she has a redeeming feature after all which ultimately led to her own demise in order to restore a hopeful future for the 2 young women she has betrayed. So it was a delight to see Staunton showing off her versatile acting abilities. If I had watched her in "Fingersmith" first, I'd never have thought that she could be Vera Drake. Two very different characters, played ever so brilliantly by the talented veteran actor.
Rounding up the cast are Rupert Evans who plays Mr. Rivers aka "Gentleman" with such delicious charm but sleaze in every sense of the word that it's difficult to despise him thoroughly; and Charles Dance who plays Maud Lilly's poisonous uncle. Sadly Dance's role was much too limited, predominantly due to time constraints, hence we didn't have a chance to see just how evil he could turn the role into.
Now that I've finally read the novel, I'm glad I watched the TV adaptation first because with the visuals of the adaptation and the extra information and knowledge about these characters from the novel, I can put the missing pieces that Peter Ransley's script unfortunately left out to fill in the gaps. Not that he or director Aisling Walsh didn't do a good job. The adaptation was written, shot and directed beautifully. While I wish the adaptation included some really memorable moments from the novel, I also have to face the reality of time constraints that simply can't be avoided when it comes to the TV medium. Peter Ransley did use quite a lot of Sarah Waters' dialogue and also managed to shrink a thick novel into a 3-hour screenplay, leaving almost no major storylines untold. I'm grateful that Ransley stayed true to the book, throughout his depiction. Worth mentioning is the exquisite cinematic feel to every scene in the movie, be it the old, grungy, dirty Lance Street in London or the cold, grey, lifeless Briar House set in the middle of the vast beauty of the countryside. Walsh and her cinematographer managed to give an effective overall hue of the set decor and production design in different places, indoors and outdoors, giving us an authentic feel of the Victorian era.
"Fingersmith" is truly a fabulous treat to anyone who loves to indulge in complex plot lines that twist and turn, leaving you stunned before you know it. What makes it even more delightful is all these thrilling plot twists play up as a backdrop to a quintessential love and romance between the two young women who are cursed with the inevitable betrayal that befalls them. Well done, BBC and Sally Head Productions! ~ Coggy
