I'm
more convinced than ever that the best way to adapt many novels for the
screen is to adapt them as miniseries or very short limited series.
"Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," originally an 800 page fantasy
novel by Susanna Clarke, benefits tremendously from being presented in
seven one-hour installments. This allows the series to unfold the way
the book did, to slowly build from a light 19th century comedy of
manners to a rip-roaring adventure story in the final acts. The early
installments are also almost totally about Mr. Norrell, as Jonathan
Strange didn't appear until a quarter of the way through the book. A
film version would have had to compress the timeline and excise the more
satirical, humorous elements. A longer series would have been
in constant danger of losing momentum and running out of material. BBC
going the miniseries route here was the best possible choice.
But
enough about the format. "Jonathan Strange" charts the careers of the
two main characters, who become magicians in an alternate version
of Regency England, where the practice of magic has been dormant for
three hundred years. Fussy, book-hoarding Gilbert Norrell (Eddie
Marsan) gets the ball rolling, by moving to London in order to make
himself useful in the war efforts against Napoleon and thus bring new
respectability to English magic. Norrell's abilities come from lengthy
study of his beloved books. However Jonathan Strange (Bertie Carvel), a
younger, dashing gentleman who soon arrives as England's second
"practical magician," is largely the product of natural talent. He and
Norrell ally themselves, but find that they don't see eye to eye in many
important respects. Their relationship is further strained by the
lurking presence of a strange, white-haired Gentleman (Marc Warren), who
helped Norrell revive Lady Pole, (Alice Englert), the wife of a
prominent minister, and has now taken an interest in Strange's wife,
Arabella (Charlotte Riley).
The BBC spared no
expense, and as a result "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" looks
absolutely fantastic. The period sets, the elaborate costuming, and
the displays of CGI-aided magic are great fun. Magic is used with
restraint, however. The series is driven primarily by terrific
character work bringing to life Norrell's stubborn efforts to enforce
his particular ideologies, Strange developing his own opinions on magic,
and the clandestine plotting of the eerie Gentleman. Marsan and Carvel
are both at their best and lead a strong ensemble cast. Several of the
most memorable performances come in the smaller roles: Norrell's
manservant Childermass (Enzo Cilenti), a butler of the Pole household, Stephen
(Ariyon Bakare), who falls under the Gentleman's influence, and the
comical opportunist Drawlight (Vincent Franklin), who quickly attaches
himself to Norrell when he arrives in London. I especially appreciated
the greater emphasis placed on the two major women of the piece,
Arabella and Lady Pole, who are more active and outspoken than they were
in the novel, to the series' benefit.
I
think that fans of the book will be pleased, though they'll more likely
to notice the series' weaker spots. There are some pacing issues that
crop up in the last few episodes. This easily could have been nine or
ten installments, and the fireworks of the finale are all jammed into a
very short span. Various developments involving the Gentleman's
machinations are also spelled out much more explicitly, lessening the
air of mystery and intrigue. There's a noticeably slickness to the
production - nearly all the primary creative talents are recent "Doctor
Who" alums - that mark it as being filmed for television. As lovely as
the production design is, you could never mistake this for a feature
film. Also, I felt that the miniseries left things slightly too
open-ended, perhaps anticipating a sequel. It's a pity Susanna Clarke
hasn't finished hers yet.
These are very small
issues, though, in an impressive, faithful adaptation of a well-loved
fantasy novel. I enjoyed it thoroughly from start to finish, and I hope
that Hollywood can look to this as an example of how to handle other
adaptations of similarly difficult source material in the future. And I
can think of about a dozen other books that I'd love for the BBC to
tackle next.
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