Martin's Close

Another installment of 'A Ghost Story for Christmas' and an ultra low budget, low production scale, low production values adaptation of a lesser short ghost story from M.R. James.

I think that the intention was to use a plainly small budget and minor production to tell a smaller story in an understated, reductive manner in an effort to create an effective drama from very short measures.

Regrettably I found this adaptation to be the least engaging of all the BBC's "direct" versions of M.R. Jame's tales, both from either the original 70's run and the intermittent 21st century series; discounting the ill judged 2010 version of 'Whistle and I'll come to you' as a far looser and unfettered effort; albeit one with redeeming features.

The scenes were not at all convincingly written or directed, with basic background as well as foreground inadequacies.

The antagonist was ably acted in most scenes but everyone else seemed to be under-directed or overacting or playing their part very broadly.

I found the ghostly elements to be weaker than I could sustain faith in....particularly the appearance of the phantom itself.

The best part in terms of my enjoyment was the one well crafted and well performed scene whereby the murderer and murdered first meet and strike up and 'relationship'. I liked that little set up.

I didn't like the framing/narration device of a modern perspective provided by a contemporary character. It seemed to me to be less believable than a failed effort at a period one would have been. Although it probably has the grain of a good idea behind it: something of a reflection of M.R. Jame's own way of telling his ghost stories in a contemporaneous manner at the time that he first told them to his select audiences, I couldn't ever get engaged with the idea here.

Overall personally I can commend the effort but not the product which simply left me bored and disbelieving for far too much of its run time.

In this instance, of such a under-nourishing story, casting a black actor in a key witness role made me think of how much more interesting a brief story would of been about his character in 1680's England rather than what was actually being offered and I actually preferred to mull this effect in my mind than be engaged by the creative vision offered here.

The morale of my tale is: if you are making a limited little story don't add something far more striking and distracting and interesting than your actual story as a minor cogg in the wheel of your narrative.

3 out of 10 from me

No atmosphere, no scares, bland. That says it all.

Martin's Close is one of the weak M.R James stories. I've not found any of the Mark Gatiss adaptations to be of the same standard as the Lawrence Gordon Clarke productions. Despite having today's production technology, it fails to capture any atmosphere of the story.

John Martin is up before a Judge, and twelve good men and true, for the murder of Ann Clark, a poor woman and easy target.

Nicely made, very well acted, just a bit on the slow side. In the same style as the great stories from yesteryear, just lacking the depth and shock factor of say, The Signalman.

Peter Capaldi was of course a big draw, and does indeed have star quality, Wild Scolding I thought was terrific as the man on trial.

I did enjoy it, if I'm honest I would say it was just a little dull, they could have added some horror, or even a few minor scares.

Enjoyable though. 6/10

This production stays with the style of the story, and without that there would be no production. M.R. James is amazing, his ghost stories can scare me out of the house in the middle of the night, but they never do. That's what I like about them. When I've read (or listened) to one of his ghost stories, I'm never left wanting more from the story. Ive been entertained & then I'm respectfully left to myself and my own thoughts. This production does just that. I'm influenced by the fact that I've read the story several times. I wasn't left wondering or wanting at the end of the episode. The story line was understood. The humor in this production was equal to that of the story. It worked out right, that rarely happens in the story to screen conversion. I find that commendable. A ghost story for Christmas... is not meant to stick around, making you sick and hollow with fear.... it's something else, and it requires balance. This production kept that balance, not an easy thing to do these days.