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
Tipping The Velvet
(Synopsis & Reviews)
Tipping the Velvet was adapted from Sarah Waters' best-selling debut novel of the same name. Set in the 1890s, the series focuses on the romance between Nan Astley (played by Rachel Stirling), a cook in the seaside restaurant owned by her father, and Kitty Butler (Keeley Hawes), a musical hall entertainer specializing in male impersonation. Given the strict (and somewhat hypocritical) moral restrictions of the Victorian era, the lesbian relationship between Nancy and Kitty must be kept a closely guarded secret, except in the hedonistic underground circles in which the actress and her libertine friends travel. Kitty dumps Nancy for a more acceptable (male) mate. Nan takes a turn as a rent-boy, using her male stage costumes as a lure for gentlemen seeking easy back-alley pleasure with a "boy", then ends up becoming basically a "kept woman" to a high society vixen, Diana Lethaby (Anna Chancellor), where she also ended up having a brief sexual encounter with Lethaby's maid, Zena Blake (Sally Hawkins).
Critics' Reviews: (#1)While Tipping the Velvet isn't traditional Masterpiece Theater material, it's not all that far from it either. For all the sex and S&M, it is downright tasteful to the point of being arid. As is usually the case with television, the too clean, too precisely arranged sets don't help in this respect. Still, if not taken seriously as a period piece art, Velvet works as guilty pleasure entertainment. Sax's direction and the editing are often ludicrously overwrought, though Sax does put together at least one particularly inspired sequence - Nan's first time on the stage is intercut with her rehearsals and it all culminates in a kiss between Nan and Kitty, both playing men. The most annoying element in Velvet is Nan's narrating voice-over, which too often simply states what is readily apparent on the screen. It's also where Davies' dialogue is at its worst with lines like "open an oyster and it's like a secret world in there." Throughout, Tipping the Velvet's saving grace is its actresses, who ease it past more than one rough patch. All three gorgeous leads, Stirling, Hawes, and May are magnificent, illustrating a vast and subtle range of emotions and reactions. They have a grace and sincerity often missing on American television where actors don't just act, but have to make a show of "acting." Here, the women just are. Stirling is convincing in her transformation from frightened sparrow into audacious hawk; Hawes shows how Kitty hides the turmoil of social pressures beneath a buoyant veteran demeanor; and May, who has always excelled as emotionally-battered characters, does the same here. Special mention must also go to Janet Henfrey (My Uncle Silas, The Ideal Husband). Playing an old, sassy tart named Mrs. Jex, she is one mean scene-stealer. ~ George Wu, culturevulture.net
Critics' Reviews: (#2)
BBC2's version of Tipping the Velvet sticks very close to the original story, tightening it up to a whirlwind pace, and making it MUCH more campy than the original story. Where the book was often dark in tone, considering some of the dire circumstances that poor Nan found herself in, the series adaptation is basically a comedy. Davies was lucky enough to have such a well-written original source, as much of the dialogue is lifted right out of the book (one of my favorite lines being, "You exquisite tart!").
...overall, Tipping the Velvet is enjoyable in a guilty-pleasure type of way. The packed audience at the screening I attended (for the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival) totally ate it up, laughing, applauding, cheering, and hissing at all the appropriate moments. The series is sexy, racier than anything that would make it on US TV at least, and all the actors do a fine job (even if the leads are too gorgeous to pass as boys). By the end of the three hours, you find yourself cheering for Nan as she inevitably makes the right choice for herself, finding her own identity, and true love to boot. ~ Linda, MoviePie.com
Critics' Reviews: (#3)
"It's Pride and Prejudice with dirty bits." That's how screenwriter Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones' Diary), in an interview contained on this disc, describes his adaptation of Sarah Waters' acclaimed novel of lesbian love, betrayal, and redemption in Victorian England. This three-part BBC production chronicles with relish the story of Nan Astley (Rachael Stirling, the ravishing image of her mother, Diana Rigg), barely 18, and certain that life holds more for her than her oyster girl's existence. "You'll meet someone who'll have your head spinning and your legs turning to jelly," her sister promises. That someone surprisingly turns out to be "gay and bold" Kitty Butler (Keeley Hawes), a music-hall entertainer, with whom Nan falls instantly, and swooningly, in love. Nan follows her to London, where, as a double act, they become the toast of London, until Kitty's "marriage of convenience" breaks up the act and Nan's heart. The outcast Nan, decked out in Victor/Victoria duds, becomes a streetwalker, and then "tart" to the aptly named Diana Leatherby (Anna Chancellor). This affair, too, comes to "a bad end" as a destitute Nan is deposited back on the streets, where she insinuates herself into the lives of Florence (Jodhi May), a social worker, and her socialist brother. Is Nan "too spoiled and stained for love?" Will she risk her blossoming relationship with Florence when Kitty inevitably returns to rekindle their affair? There is enough "backbiting and bitching" to fuel several seasons of The O.C. Nan's couplings, while tastefully done, do carry what Waters, in the co-interview with Davies, calls "a queer erotic charge." They are graphic by Cinemax standards, let alone the BBC. But the sterling writing and performances will captivate even the most sensitive viewers, making this groundbreaking miniseries, to quote one character, "a delightful evening... a rare treat." ~ Donald Liebenson, Amazon.com
Our Reviews:
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