A wide-eyed young scion of a conservative family embarks on a mission to infiltrate the wealthy neighboring clan dominated by ruthless railroad tycoon George Russell, his rakish son, Larry, and his ambitious wife, Bertha.
“The Gilded Age” focuses on Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson), whose spendthrift uncle has died recently. His attorney and estate executor in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Tom Raikes (Thomas Cocquerel), regretfully informs Marian that there is little left. With meager prospects, she somewhat reluctantly decides to leave the small town she has lived in her entire life. Reaching out to her deceased father’s sisters Agnes Van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon), she plans to travel to New York City.
Marian’s purse is stolen at the Doylestown train station, leaving her without her ticket or money. There she encounters Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), a black woman who graciously agrees to loan Marian the cash for a ticket and travel expenses, which she promises her aunts will repay.
It is a tale primarily told from Marian’s vantage point of view, shedding some light on high society in New York during the late 1800s. The period represents a time of transition between old monied families dating back to the time of the Mayflower and new money made possible by a burgeoning financial system powered by industrialization and its many new inventions. Soon after Marian gets settled, Mr. Raikes turns up in New York and lands a promising job in a law firm. While he clearly has taken a shine to Marian, he is also susceptible to the alluring charms of the big city. Aunts Agnes and Ada suspect Raikes is an adventurer, but Marian remains unconvinced.
Meanwhile, the upstart neighbors across the street in the recently remodeled, decidedly ostentatious building take the form of an ambitious couple made wealthy from the expanding railroad network in the United States – Bertha and George Russell (Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector). The two seek to join polite society for the benefit of their lovely daughter, Gladys (Taissa Farmiga), who awaits a much-belated introduction to the closed coterie of bluebloods gatekeepers, jealously defending the status quo.
The in-house servants live on the bottom floors of the residences, catering to every need of the wealthy occupants. Delightful exchanges between the housekeeping staff in the quarters below put on display an interesting pecking order. After Peggy Scott – revealed as a literate, aspiring writer with exquisite penmanship – agrees to serve as secretary for Agnes, she experiences the conflict first-hand. Though, as a secretary, Peggy would be near the top of the servant ranking, some of the staff are loathe to acknowledge her.
Marian befriends Sylvia Chamberlain (Jeanne Tripplehorn), a woman tainted by a past scandal and effectively banished from the old guard. Mrs. Chamberlain proves to be a reliable ally of Marian. Further mixing things up is the illicit affair between John Adams (Claybourne Elder), the surreptitious love interest of Oscar Van Rhijn (Blake Ritson), Agnes’ son, destined to inherit the family fortune.
Nathan Lane charms as Ward McAllister, a well-heeled southerner and go-between with a Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy), the queen bee of New York society. More than once, the two conspirators intone that if the established clique does not admit new aspirants sooner or later, the outcasts would almost certainly form their own circle and exclude them instead.
The remainder of the extensive cast and myriad subplots are too numerous to mention. Suffice it to say that all of the pieces come together in a way that confidently elevates the narrative. Written and created by the force behind “Downton Abbey,” Julian Fellowes once again explores the impact of changing times on hide-bound, aristocratic families and societies.
“The Gilded Age” celebrates the upper-crust in the New World, with a romantic regard for the class’s perceived mobility, which perhaps doesn’t altogether sync up with reality. Still, the intrigue and festivities compel in a sort of fairytale fashion that rarely disappoints. The series comes to a moving and heart-wrenching whirlwind of a resolution that neatly ties a bow around the entire production.
Now available on DVD
