How Watching Lily James In BBC’s War and Peace Whilst Unwell Made Me Better

After a rough couple of days being ill and constrained to my bed, I emerged refreshed and with a new girl crush - Lily James. I spent almost a whole day with her as I watched back to back episodes of the recent TV hit BBC’s War & Peace in which she plays the lead female Natasha.

Even though I was feeling extraordinarily sorry for myself (I’m a complete drama queen when I’m ill) her performance and portrayal of Natasha not only distracted me but made me feel so much better. Natasha is a beacon of hope, energy, inspiration and beauty. The character carries War & Peace with her journey that entwines with the other characters.

(This gif perfectly sums up everything I loved about Natasha)

We meet her as a naïve young girl, following her as she falls in love, goes through separation, seduction, ruin, loss, despair and comes out the other side with hope. It’s a truly remarkable story and touches on many thought-provoking themes.

What I love about Natasha is how she brings the other characters alive. She serves as a brilliant measure of comparison. Comparing Sonya to Natasha is a perfectly constructed measure of comparison because they both have similar attributes but their lives are completely different due to Sonya’s social standing. As an orphaned cousin Sonya’s prospects in society are so much more limited than Natasha’s. Natasha is free to fall in love with a Prince, her character is authentic, at times impulsive, confident. However, Sonya feels censored, her character is forever restrained and reminded of her place in the hierarchy. Even comparing Natasha to her male counterparts is interesting because it evokes concepts of masculinity vs femininity, the role of women in society, sexuality, relationships, marriage the list goes on.

I think she’s a really positive heroine for women too. Natasha has it all- a concept that all women in modern society are aware of and strive for. At the start of the series she’s from a wealthy family, wears amazing dresses and is seen at all the right balls. In fact, let’s do this, let’s bring Natasha into 2016- she’s rich, runs in the right circles, she’s beautiful, most likely part of the fash pack, engaged to a Prince and probably has a huge following on Twitter and flawless Instagram pictures. She’s basically winning at life. Then all of a sudden things start to fall apart and eventually she loses everything. At this point she could withdraw into a life of bitterness and despair, if we’re still in 2016 there would be a strong likelihood of a very public and not so elegant breakdown on social media and a tragic interview with the Daily Mail. However, not only does she have the strength to carry on from this but she manages to build up a lovely life from nothing. She takes all the pain and hurt she has experienced and learns and grows from it. That’s genuinely what happens in the series, obviously excluding the Instagram and Daily Mail. It’s fantastic.

I do just really love her ending and how strong and inspirational Natasha is. If that’s not a positive message of the resilience of Women I don’t know what is. Many thanks Tolstoy.

Let’s move on to Lily. Natasha was the catalyst for the gal crush, but after reading interviews and having a gander through pap snaps the crush has been cemented. She looks so happy! She seems to consistently wear a genuine smile on her face! How bloody refreshing, I don’t know about you but the grumpy bitch face that a lot of the celebs work on the red carpet is getting a bit tiring for me.

Lily is setting such a positive example for women asking questions like, “Why do women always get pointed at for their bodies?” and exclaiming, “Of course I’m a feminist! I don’t even understand that question.” Lily comes from a family of thespians and with her career taking off the way it has, seems to have lead a charmed life. However, she had the sudden death of her much loved father to overcome while she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Overcoming such a heart-breaking experience seems only to have added to depth to her obvious good nature and perhaps explains how, as Natasha she can be fragile yet strong, hopeful but carry the weight of sadness.
Lily James is nailing it and I have a feeling the only way is up for her. Keep doing what you’re doing Lily.

Did I fangirl too much?