Search - Lilies on DVD

Samuel K. (Solvanda)
Reviewed on 11/25/2018...

An outstanding piece of work. Don't think a month goes by without a stray thought about the instance where the father tears off his belt and goes ape berzerk on his full grown daughter.

The BBC Needs to Make a Second Series!

Alison Leigh | 10/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having seen Lilies first on Amazon UK, I got it as soon as the American version came out, and I am so glad that I did!

Lilies is a wonderful BBC period drama about three working class sisters (Iris, May, and Ruby Moss) as they adjust to life after WWI in Liverpool, England. The oldest daughter, Iris takes over the role of the sisters' late mother, cleaning while cooking for both the family and a local bakery; May works as a maid for a rich household, but dreams of being a movie star; while Ruby spends her days selling corsets.

Lilies doesn't let viewers down in its entertainment value: The script is packed with secrets, family and class conflict, forbidden love, attempted suicide, hidden desires, and much more, all taking place at a time when society was beginning to move into a new mode that was both more free and liberal. Not to mention the acting is first-rate and the characters and storylines are extremely well-developed.

Don't waste a moment before you go out and get this series. It is addictive, and you will not be disppointed!"

I watched it all in one day...

N. Thomas | 01/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...so addicted was I to the next turn of the plot!

"Lilies" follows the lives of the Moss family, led by Nelson "Dadda", comprised of son William (Billy) and daughters Iris, May, and Ruby. Mrs. Mary Moss has been dead approximately 15 years and Iris, the eldest, has become the lady of the house. Dadda works as an amateur veterinarian and herbalist. Iris creates confections and sells them to a local sweets store. May is in service to the nouveau-riche Mr. and Mrs. Brazendale. Ruby, William's twin and the youngest, just starts into peddling women's corsets at the beginning of the series.

The Mosses live in the early 1920s in Liverpool, and their lives are mirros of the times. The influx of jazz music and the popularity of the silent films persist throughout; the beginnings of social change through contraception and women's suffrage figure into it as well.

Religious differences and class distinction also play large roles. Dadda, an Ulsterman, is vigorously Protestant, and his sons were raised in his church--elder son Walter having perished in action in World War I.
The Moss daughters were raised in their mother's Roman Catholic faith (although their names would hardly have been given Baptismal approval for the era of their birth -- the 1890s -- by any Catholic priest, as none of them are saints names). On more than one occasion the division of churches causes issues within the family. Young Rev. Malachi Melia, the pastor of the girls' parish, plays a large role in many episodes.

The daughters are the central figures in this series, given its title from a toast made by Dadda that, while the bulbs he'd planted in the little garden on Portugal Street as a newly-married (and very young) man never prospered, he'd been blessed by "my girls, who are my lilies".

Iris is common-sensical but harbors a yearning for her own marriage and motherhood. The unlikely-named Domingo appears the perfect match--until a secret dismantles Iris' hopes and dreams. May, who initially seems as sensible as her elder sister, ends up in the midst of high drama with her employer, becoming pregnant by him. Ruby, the feistiest of the trio, becomes entranced by the social movements of women's liberation and embraces vegetarianism, even as her own dreams of swimming for the British Olympic team are dashed early on in the storyline.

Billy is a sad soul, having witnessed Naval action at the Battle of Jutland, only to be sent home, a victim of post-traumatic stress. Dadda is a man desperate to keep his family together, although his own violent temperment makes for some of the clan's worst problems. Toward the end of the series Dadda attempts to introduce his new romantic interest, Myrtle Bird, to his offspring, but she is soundly rejected--this was the only time I found Dadda sympathetic, as Miss Bird was more than appropriate for him and very clearly a good match for him.

"Lilies" truly offers it all--suicidal thoughts, adultery, bad marriages, sexual identity, class struggle, religious tension--except for a juicy murder, it covers a vast panorama of human conditions, struggles, tragedies, and, ultimately, victories.

"

Excellent

SereneNight | California, USA | 02/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lilies is an excellent show that follows the lives of 3 sisters in the 1920's in Liverpool. Along with their crusty cantankerous (and at times somewhat abusive) father, traumatized war vet brother Billy, and various other characters including a hot parish priest, these sisters struggle to survive and make ends meet in post war Ireland.

I was immediately entranced in the film, I loved the characters and the scenery and couldn't wait to find out more about them. My only complaint is that the BBC is not making a season 2."