iancrimble

I am incredulous at some of the reviews thus far. Just a reminder to some: this is not a 2020, Americo-European, slick, CGI-laden action film. It is sublimely Indian story, set in 1947, in an ancient almost timeless nation, populated by people who are from a totally different culture. To my mind, having watched three episodes, this series captures all of these. The slowness of the pace, even the slowness of the camera work, reinforces all this. The acting? I found it to be so refreshing, and those reviewers who talk about amateur acting obviously haven't met the originals of the people portrayed in this series (I have: I was born in the 40's and my mother was born in Bangalore three decades earlier: in my life I have know and dealt with just about all of the wonderful 'types' portrayed here). I revelled in the characters with all their quirkiness and idiosyncrasies, and I found them an antidote to the often-crass over-acting that is churned out today. By the way, to those who think that some of the delivery is wooden, here's an insight: people in the 40s did speak much more precisely and grammatically than most do today, and to my somewhat agèd ears the voices in this series are totally authentic for the period. The camera work is divine, as is the music, and combined together they take you out of your drab day-to-day life to a very different world. Not always a nice world, and I am sure that there are some who will be offended by the portrayal of bigotry and intolerance the are woven into the story, but they are undeniable historical truths which are central to the plot. Overall, to those of you locked down in these troubled times, draw the curtains, sit back and lose yourself in this luxurious and beautifully-rendered drama.

OK let's take one of the greatest science fiction stories ever written and turn it into a BBC Luvvies trash-mash. You knew it was going to go wrong when you realised that the central characters were to be unmarried man and woman living in Edwardian sin and suffering from the social mores of the day (very BBC). Then every senior character was portrayed as an upper-class twit (very BBC). Then the beautifully detailed and scientifically-based plot as written by HG Wells was hijacked by pointless CGI special effect that had nothing to do with the real story (very BBC). What a totally wasted opportunity.

Back in 1995 when the BBC was a great organisation they took on Pride and Prejudice. They stuck absolutely to the book and as a result produced the one of the most superb cinematic interpretations of English Literature. 24 years later the same organisation shows the depths to which they have sunk, despising English literature and producing a travesty of a great work.