Seeking Persephone

The challenges of a ‘common woman’ marrying an aloof Duke in remote England, 1805

While this is technically a television miniseries consisting of four parts, running 43½ minutes each, you can view it as a movie in one sitting, fast-forwarding through the recaps and credits, which makes it a 2h 45m viewing experience.

It fills the bill if you're in the mood for period piece drama/romance with a few thrills, particularly flicks that largely take place in a remote British castle or manor in the pre-Victorian era, such as George C. Scott’s “Jane Eyre” and “Sense and Sensibility.” Even films like “The Secret Garden” are comparable in ways. The locations, sets and costuming are convincing, not to mention petite Ryann Bailey shines in the titular role. I suggest taking advantage of the subtitles to make out all the verbiage.

The refreshing subtle approach to the key relationship is the express opposite of hedonists hooking up at the beach on Spring Break.

A pack of ferocious wolves plays a minor role in the mid-section, yet wild packs in England went functionally extinct close to three centuries earlier. For the sake of the story, it could be argued that it was an isolated remnant, perhaps crossed over from the wilderness of Scotland since the castle was located in remote northern England (even though it's documented that the last Scottish wolf was killed in 1680). It’s possible seeing as how the Tasmanian tiger supposedly went extinct in 1936, but there have been over 1200 sightings since then.

Interior scenes were shot on custom soundstages in Lehi, Utah, in Feb 2024 whereas location shooting was done in Feb 2025 at Raby Castle in northeast England, which is located a mile north of the village of Staindrop, as well as Auckland Palace, which is a dozen miles northeast of the castle.

GRADE: B