FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

jack_of_tears Tipping the Velvet is the film against which I measure all other lesbian dramas and I don't know if it's merely nostalgia for my first film in the genre but I have never found another that touched me so profoundly as this. Yes it is a very adult film and it will deliver on titillation if that's what brought you to it (and no judgement, that's what brought me) but it also a very meaningful and powerful exploration of character and human growth. Not to be missed.

Red-125 Tipping the Velvet (2002) (TV) was directed by Geoffrey Sax for BBC television. The basic plot is a coming-of-age story for the protagonist, Nan Astley, played well by Rachael Stirling. As a teenager, Nan works in her family-run oyster house. Everyone expects her to stay at home, then marry an appropriate husband, and settle down to family life. Nan expects this too.Everything changes when Nan meets Kitty Butler (Keeley Hawes) a beautiful and talented performer who dresses in men's clothes and captures the hearts of her audience. The audience includes Nan, who is sexually attracted to Kitty in a way in which she's not attracted to her boyfriend. The remainder of the film follows Nan to London and through her ups (sort of) and her downs (horrible) as a lesbian and sometimes male impersonator. As is typical for the BBC, every role, no matter how small, is performed by an excellent actor. The BBC has a depth and breadth of performing artists that is truly marvelous. None of the supporting actors stands out above the others--they were uniformly good. Both Stirling and Hawes are wonderful, and their acting carries the film along.It's always sad to be reminded of how difficult life can be for someone who doesn't fit society's mold for what is normal. I know it isn't easy for lesbians in the U.S. or England today. Imagine the obstacles to love and happiness for lesbians in Victorian England. We've made progress, but we still have a long way to travel.The mini-series was made for TV, and watching it on DVD worked very well. It would work just as well on the large screen in a theater.

Lilah I have to say it is a sign that this film appeals to all ages if somebody by right should be shielding themselves away from anything remotely homosexual absolutely loves this thing.I thought every last bit of this film was amazing and the casting was superb, but I have to say Anna Chancellor...where have YOU been all my life.Having previously seen Anna in several other things I was completely blown away by how magnificent she was.Diana Letherby may not be the most lovable of the characters but she could certainly take me home if she fancied...

Weasel100 I have nothing but praise for this mini series. It's only about a year and a half old but I have seen it twice already; with greater enjoyment the second time than the first. I'm seriously thinking of watching it again soon since I find it spiritually uplifting.It is a very tender romantic drama with such beautiful performances, sets, costumes, music and scenes that it has a resonance which places it almost in a league of its own among mini series.Some others have commented on the difficulties of living as a lesbian in Britain in the 1890s. Nothing especially difficult about that; it was only male homosexuality that was against the law as poor Oscar Wilde experienced to his great cost and as a great loss to the literary world. Anyway, I digress.In my view, this is essential television. It is perhaps one of the greatest tragic romantic dramas since Romeo and Juliet, although not in the conventional sense.10 out of 10 from me.JMV