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Reviews
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015)
Beguiling drama from beginning to end
I obsessively love the novel by Susanna Clarke. (I so wish she'd write another). The book is a whimsical set of fairy stories tied together with a through narrative, but what underpins it is a lost and haunting mythology of England where a legendary figure towers over all magical events - The Raven King.
Dramatising such an expansive work of creative genius could've destroyed the tone and atmosphere of the original book; but no, it was beautifully rendered in almost every way.
However, were I at the helm, I might've altered a detail or two. Like mumbling actors! Paul Kaye was engaging as Vinculus but the director could've told him to speak clearly because his lines are utterly vital - they're prophesies. Also, some of the casting was arguable - for example, Alice Englert as Lady Pole seemed unsympathetic and unrefined. I imagined that character as being the perfect Regency young lady, like Jane Bennet is in 'Pride and Prejudice' and for that reason, her vulnerability to peril is made more tragic. But on the other hand, it didn't occur to me that Childermass should be cast with a gravelly-voiced Heathcliff type. Enzo Cilenti became the sexy Poldark of the piece and it worked well.
But all in all - it was the best TV adaptation I've seen in years. If only The Raven King were real and could return again to rescue England from the other drivel that passes for televisual entertainment these days.
Pilgrimage (2017)
Who is a devil? Who is an angel?
Out of the creeping faerie mist of a dark age comes an intensely suspenseful tale about why we choose our allegiances. This is the heart of the story - our reasons make no sense.
The drama revolves around a lump of rock. That any other lump could replace it at any time and no-one would notice is openly stated in the dialogue. It's the stark question woven through the plot - is faith taken on faith alone really worth fighting for?
It's a tense film, beautifully written and exquisitely acted. Each viewer decides what the film's about - it doesn't explain itself, it falls silent. Everyone will see something different. Some might conclude we're all compelled towards war whether we like it or not. Some might decide we're all in league with the Devil whether we know it or not. Some might believe we're all still lost in the creeping faerie mist clutching for something to save us.
Some reviewers didn't rate it highly as an action thriller but it's not a superficial movie and maybe doesn't fit into that genre. There's far more being shown in the subtext and the themes than being told in the action. As for the excessive violence, I felt it merely conveyed the grim reality of melee combat. After all, hidden in the word 'Pilgrimage' is the word 'grim'.
It's a mark of a brilliant film when after seeing it once you must see it again. On the second viewing, it bit me deeper on the neck and made me more its thrall.
For me, the main highlight was Jon Bernthal's acting. It was haunting. He played a voiceless man who served the monks as the lowliest of their group and I fell in love with his tragic integrity. He reminded me of another tormented anti-hero of contemporary myth - Angel from 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer': the vampire cursed with a soul, plagued by a weight of remorse for a hellish past. Both crave absolution and will do anything to receive it.
I loved 'Pilgrimage'. It was a strangely beguiling hybrid of superstitious medievalism clashing with an ancient landscape alive with pre-existing belief. And the ending was satisfyingly unsatisfying - like all good fairy tales are.