Death and Nightingales

Death and Nightingales is apparently based on a book by 'the greatest Irish novelist you've never heard of', Eugene McCabe. Cartainly I hadn't, but if this is a faithful adaptation, maybe he's got something after all. As bodice-ripping dramas go, there's enough mystery and surpressed passion to give Wuthering Heights or Jamaica Inn a run for its money. Excellent performances from the whole cast, although Michael Smiley was woefully underused in the opening installment. I can only assume he has a bigger role to play yet. I was annoyed to see a schoolboy error in referring to Mercy as Beth in the cast list initially, but happily that has now been corrected! Anyway, to end on a positive note, the atmosphere in this production is fantastic, the Irish scenery is put to superb use in creating the aforementioned, and I was utterly absorbed from start to finish.

The plot is very plain. It was painfully slow and empty. I can't recommend it, but I gave 5 stars because the music, the picture and the scenery was quite enjoyable and the characters weren't black and white.

With so many first class actors (with the exception of the female lead who was pretty dire throughout and couldn't even manage a Northern Irish accent) this mini series should have been great, but sadly it failed due to too slow pacing and an unsympathetic and unfathomable main character (Beth).

Matthew Rhys and Jamie Dorman were excellent. The period detail was great. It was atmospheric and engaging - up to a point, but really this could easily have been condensed into 1 hour 30 minutes (instead of 3 long hours). Having the main character Beth talking aloud to herself to explain plot points/feelings was clumsy and lazy scriptwriting too, by the third episode the character had lost all believability. A real pity, as this could have succeeded with some major editing and a more skilled female lead.

Skelly, Rhys and Dornan heavily invest in their formal Theater training for a deeply emotional rendition of Eugene McCabe's historical novel of the same name.

The agonizing dialogue will either put one off immediately or serve to capacitate an intense immersive process into the emotional auras of that time.

An excellent and captivating drama. A fascinating exploration of a young woman's plight at the hands of a tempestuous father and exploitative lover who only wishes to use Beth as a means to support Republicanist terror in England. Wonderful dialogue and haunting Irish music creates a chilling atmosphere. Beth is beautiful, vulnerable, brave and enduring and ultimately a symbol of judgement over the wickedness perpetrated by the men she encounters in her tragic life.