‘The Buccaneers’ Apple TV Plus Review: The Rare Delightfully Charming Period Love Story
With The Buccaneers, Apple TV Plus is adapting an 85-year-old novel that was set 150 years ago in a New York and British high society that is very much unlike anything anyone watching can really relate to. It’s a story about what love means, when a group of young women reach that age in which their families consider them suitable for marriage, hoping a respectable English lord will ask for their hand. And as unrelatable as such a story may be to any person in the same age range watching the Katherine Jakeways-created series, or as unfathomable those dresses and high-society parties may look, the truth is that its core rebellious themes about breaking from family traditions and establishing your own path, and most importantly, the sheer charm of the cast, makes for a delightful watch.
Each of our five protagonists, played by Kristine Frøseth (Nan), Imogen Waterhouse (Jinny), Aubri Ibrag (Lizzy), Alisha Boe (Conchita), and Josie Totah (Mabel), struggles with themes of identity and the meaning of the words “love” and “marriage”, as they each find a partner they at least think will be appropriate for them. Jinny and Nan are sisters but they couldn’t be farther apart in their search for a life partner at the beginning of the series. The former has had dreams about her wedding day and the good-looking man who will get on his knees at first sight, desperately in love with her even before she pronounces a word; the latter believes there must be more to this thing called love than settling for someone who seems good enough to provide for her. She’s not interested in falling in love because the definition she’s had so far isn’t satisfying enough — until she meets Guy (Matthew Broome) and Theo (Guy Remmers).
Nan is our main protagonist, the anchor of the ensemble. Everyone under the sun gets their moment to shine and then some in the eight-episode series, but it’s Nan’s journey we’re really following. But herein lies the big disconnect problem as well. Despite every effort Frøseth made to charm her way into our hearts, it’s not really easy to relate to someone trying to decide between two men she just met, both of whom claim to be desperately in love with her despite having spent less than a full day with Nan. Obviously, that is pretty much how marriages worked for the most part back then, but The Buccaneers is about throwing the establishing norms out the window and asking “Why does this have to be this way?”
(L-R) Alisha Boe, Josie Totah, Kristine Frøseth, Aubri Ibrag and Imogen Waterhouse in “The Buccaneers,” now streaming on Apple TV Plus.
Theo, an English duke, is not interested in the glowing-eye girls who throw themselves at his title rather than him. Then, he meets Nan and is immediately enchanted. That, we can relate to, but for a series that is trying to uncover the real meaning of love and marriage, it seems slightly rushed to say that he’s deeply in love with her the next morning — it may have been how they thought about this back then, but for a story told in 2023, this seems like a fairy tale at best. And despite that, the actors are deeply charismatic and able to sell us on the illusion that these people may have actually felt this way.
One of the strengths of the story, which translated really well onto the screen, was how different and yet how connected all the characters feel. Lizzy and Jinny are trying to understand their place in the world after their lives are completely changed by their experiences with a man, who will slowly but surely uncover his most disgusting and demeaning side. Lizzy is belittled and humiliated, and Jinny will soon have to understand that she’s feeling that way too. Once, they were both looking for a man to fill a hole in their lives, they will eventually understand that it was never there because they have each other. And though Jinny’s arc seems complete by the end of the series, this isn’t really the case for Lizzy, whose story seems more supportive of others’ than one that stands on her own.
Mabel feels different than her friends. When they all salivate over the attractive guy in town, she’s instead more focused on the girls. And how does a homosexual woman live in the late 19th century, when society expects you to marry and give children to a respectable man, whether that’s what you really want or not? That alone is enough for a two-hour movie; for Apple in The Buccaneers, it’s another piece of the puzzle. Conchita, on her end, has found the love of her life, who loves her very much — but problems start to arise when her evil mother-in-law isn’t fully satisfied with the dark-skinned woman her son has fallen for. Of course, she’ll never admit to that, but Conchita knows better. Hers is one of the most nuanced arcs, albeit one that could have used a little bit more work to feel as satisfying as the writers wanted.
(L-R) Josie Totah and Mia Threapleton in “The Buccaneers,” now streaming on Apple TV Plus.
The reason why these storylines have a lesser impact is that the majority of the storytelling resources are invested in the St. George sisters (Nan and Jinny), as well as their relationship with their mother (played by the ever-wonderful Christina Hendricks), as well as the friendship between Nan’s two love interests, which takes a life of its own. In the end, it’s all about revisiting whatever society thinks it’s best for the new generations. For instance, much like the girls and their buccaneer-like mentalities, the music doesn’t really reflect the time the story takes place, instead being a window 100 years into the future. The main takeaway for me was watching these cheerful and delightful performances take off and, just like their characters, never really ask for permission or forgiveness. And unlike the majority of the men in their lives, I was simply on the same wavelength, despite some of its shortcomings.
The first three episodes of The Buccaneers are currently streaming on Apple TV Plus. New episodes will come out every Wednesday.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
