Mystery of Edwin Drood

Claude Rains, a consistently great actor, is reason enough to see any film. And Mystery of Edwin Drood is very good, it does a noble job adapting an unfinished book and works very well on its own. It does have pacing issues and the ending is far too melodramatic. The stylised Gothic sets though are very striking and the film is filmed most handsomely and further advantaged by generous direction from Stuart Walker. The atmosphere evoked really does give off a sense of unease. The dialogue is easy to follow and is written, while the story is tense and suspenseful. The film is short for a Dickens adaptation, but the mystery is always involving and respects the book, well with what they had to work with, rather than disembowelling it. The characters are believable, especially the tortured and creepy John Jasper. Claude Rains may have given better performances, but he is still exceptional, and from Rains you wouldn't expect any less. In fact all the cast acquits themselves well, particularly Douglass Montgommery and Heather Angel. David Manners doesn't have as much to do but is also good. To conclude, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox