Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Masterpiece Classic presents "Any Human Heart" on Friday



How can a man in the bloom of youth, pursuing writing and sex with equal vigor, end up grizzled, old, and surrounded by piles of boxes and paper, the detritus of a life? 

The answer is the story of Logan Mountstuart, who believes, "Every human being is a collection of selves...we never stay just one person." And the twentieth century provides the perfect backdrop for Logan to live out his lives, drinking absinthe with Ernest Hemingway, initiated into intrigue by Ian Fleming, and embroiled in the arch expat world of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. 

A novelist, war correspondent, father, spy, prisoner of war, art dealer, husband, and a lover many times over — an Everyman of sorts — Logan is played at three junctures of his life by Sam Claflin, Matthew Macfadyen (Little Dorrit), and Jim Broadbent. 

An intimate take on a sweeping century, Any Human Heart is based on the bestselling book by William Boyd and also stars Kim Cattrall (My Boy Jack), Gillian Anderson (Bleak House) and Hayley Atwell (Mansfield Park).

WSBE Rhode Island PBS presents the three-part Any Human Heart on Fridays, March 25, April 7, and  April 14 at 9 p.m., with re-broadcast the following on Mondays (3/28, 4/4, and 4/11) at 1 p.m.

NOTE: Rating is TV-14