Shakespeare Retold

Shooting the Past – In this beautiful, classy drama, the protagonists are a group of library employees who will stop at nothing to save the vast photographic collection they tend to which is housed in a large London house slated for redevelopment by a US property developer. The various strategies the librarians pursue and the tangles that result, are stunningly surrounded and infused by the photographs themselves. We, as viewers of the show, are treated to many, many curious, interesting, gorgeous, historical photos. In fact, the photos themselves play an important role in the outcome of the escalating tension between the developer and the archivists. This three-hour drama is unlike anything I’ve seen in its combination of pace, tension, art, twists, and outcome.

The Woman in White – Wilke Collins’ novel of the same name (a fine read, if you’re inclined) translates well in this dramatization. A Victorian gothic tale of conspiracy and desperate measures, the drama centers around a mysterious woman in white who may or may not divulge her secret in time, a secret which may save the lives of others.

Island at War – Until this mini-series, I knew nothing about the British Channel Islands, just off the coast of France. Set on the fictional Channel Island of St. Gregory, the multi-episode story covers a portion of the time the island is occupied by the Nazis during World War II, interweaving actual history – the real Channel Islands were occupied by the Nazis – and the detailed stories of individual characters. I found myself drawn in by the historical oddities brought to light in this slice of history, as well as by the changes the characters (Channel Islanders as well as Nazis) go through over the course of the series. (As an aside, I recently read and quite enjoyed a novel about the Channel Islands occupation and the time that immediately followed: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. If you think you’ll watch the series and read the book, I suggest reading the book after you’ve watched.)

Related Reading: British TV Crime Dramas – Parts One, Two, and Three
Gems | Movies | Unusual Love Stories

Thankfully, there’s more … more interesting British crime stories with little or no violence or gore. (Find links to British TV Crime Dramas parts one and two at the end of this article.)

Foyle’s War – You might not think that entering the world of a police detective in a small town on the British side of the English Channel during the second World War would be relaxing, but it is. Crafted with care, the characters and settings of this series exert a mesmerizing pull. The series focuses on Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle’s experience of the war as he attends to crimes in his region, even though he’d rather take a more direct role in the war effort. Michael Kitchen as Foyle compels by saying so much with so little. He’s the king of the barely lifted eyebrow and the quirking mouth – a man of contained emotion and an unerring sense of justice. All of the main characters, including Foyle’s chauffeur (played by the actress Honeysuckle Weeks, whose name is so marvelous I can’t help but mention it), his son, and his assistant, are so well-drawn and vividly brought to life that I felt grief at having to let them go when the credits rolled on the last episode. There are six seasons. I strongly recommend seeing them in order.

Blue Murder – This time, the Detective Chief Inspector is a woman, Janine Lewis, played by Caroline Quentin. The draw of this series, for me, has to do with Lewis’ choices as she juggles her job, her family – she’s a divorced mother of several kids, and her attraction to Detective Inspector Richard Mayne, played by Ian Kelsey. There’s enough of both crime-solving and interpersonal intrigue to make the series worth seeing. There are five seasons, but not many episodes per season.

House of Cards, To Play the King, and The Final Cut – Though not listed as a series on imdb.com (The Internet Movie Database, which does all things for me regarding movies), this trilogy is definitely one long, deliciously wicked story. Ian Richardson brilliantly brings to life evil, politically devious Francis Urquart (or “F.U.” as he’s known to some), who rises from Chief Whip to Prime Minister over the course of the series, using anyone and everyone and committing whatever crimes need to be committed in the process. With his supportive and disturbingly like-minded wife by his side, F.U. gets himself in and through one fix after another, including, in the middle series, engaging in a wits-fest with the King (it’s a parallel universe, where Prince Charles – one assumes – has ascended the throne, post-divorce; the King is played to perfection by Michael Kitchen). Definitely see this trilogy in order or you’ll be scratching your head in later episodes.

Chancer – And while we’re on the topic of main characters with imperfect morals, I’d like to introduce Stephen Crane, a man with a mission to make money and poke boredom in the eye, taking whatever chances come his way to do so. Played by a young Clive Owen (in the part that launched him), Crane gets himself into fix after fix, yet also gets himself out of fix after fix, all only one step away from disaster in some form or another – the boss, the bank, the law, the woman. This isn’t, strictly speaking, a crime drama, but the flavour is similar, since it’s such a relentlessly compelling dramatic portrait of an character with little respect for convention or principles or law, who nevertheless charms everyone and shows us glimpses of the true heart within the con man. See this series in order, too. It’s a long series, but the endless wit and unexpected turns provide plenty of reason to watch.

Related reading: British TV Crime Dramas, British TV Crime Dramas – Part Two

Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School

I’d not heard of this 2006 gem until recently, in spite of the star-studded cast, which includes Marisa Tomei, Mary Steenburgen, John Goodman, Sean Astin, and Robert Carlyle. Carlyle plays a widow who, through a chance encounter on a highway, makes a promise that leads him to a dance class. Once again, dance proves to be a reviver of lost souls. I particularly enjoyed the theme of gentleness in the face of difficulty, expressed through Carlyle’s portrayal of Frank Keene.

All Over the Guy

Another recently discovered older film, All Over the Guy is a romantic comedy, but the main action is man action. Yes, there are sex scenes, but they’re on the timid side if compared to many heterosexual movies in the romantic comedy genre. Besides enjoying the movie’s whacky humour and the way the story unfolds, I was drawn to the very real struggles the main characters navigate through in order to grow up and grow closer.

The Fall

Whew! Fasten your visual seat belts. When a young girl with a grand imagination and a man (played by Lee Pace) with a talent for storytelling meet in a hospital in 1920s Los Angeles, they take a strange journey together. What we see is the man’s struggle in the hospital and the man’s story as told to and seen through the mind’s eye of the girl. This unlikely pair changes each others’ lives. Filmed without special effects (which will boggle your mind – scroll down on the Amazon.com page to see the trailer) in 26 locations in more than 18 countries, The Fall will take you away and return you filled, awed, and revived.

Lars and the Real Girl

If The Fall is a wild ride, Lars and the Real Girl is a slow slide. I avoided this movie for a long time, uncertain about its flavour. Too sad? Depressing? Now I can’t seem to see it often enough. Ryan Gosling plays Lars, a man who’s kind, but also intensely introverted – to the point of painfulness. This story of Lars creatively finding a way into a healthier life – and the community that finds ways to support him as he does so – is full of small moments of well-crafted meaning, humour, and revelation. I particularly like the doctor who helps Lars, because of her way of being wily yet kind-hearted as she prompts Lars forward. Lars and the Real Girl turns out to be much more than the sum of it’s careful, beautiful, small parts.

~

{ GEMS display remarkable sparkle }

Related reading: British TV Crime Dramas (Part One) and Part Two

The list of recommendations begun in Part One of this article continues here. (Please note the warnings for Wire in the Blood.)

Second Sight – The able Clive Owen, capable of pulling off complexly compelling characters, plays Detective Chief Inspector Ross Tanner, a tough cop who’s going blind and trying to hide the fact so he can continue doing his job. His journey of deception and acceptance over the nine hours of the series interweaves with the cases he’s working on, making Second Sight a great blend of crime and character.

MI-5 (or Spooks, if you’re not in North America) – Well-written, often surprising, and visually zippy, MI5 delivers a modern spy drama with just enough soap opera overtones to keep us hooked through seven seasons (so far). Since characters come and go over the long series, there is always a chance that any tensely crafted scene may actually end up with the loss of a character, thus amping the drama to a higher level. MI5 leans toward intellect rather than crashing brawn, focusing more on issues of political intrigue, international concerns (like global warming), and tests of personal morality than displays of violence.

Rebus - John Hannah, who stars in McCallum and Amnesia (both recommended in Part One), brings author Ian Rankin’s Detective Inspector John Rebus to life in all his glum, heart-grabbing human glory. Rebus’ intense internal searching is set against dour but beautiful Edinburgh and its crimes. John Hannah only stars in the first season (four episodes) of Rebus. Subsequent seasons, starring Ken Scott as Rebus, may appeal to you, but after being sucked into the vortex of Hannah’s Rebus, I realized that I wasn’t willing to continue the series without him. He’s that good.

Wire in the Blood – I include this intense (often graphically so) series here because of the main character’s high sensitivity. Dr. Tony Hill, played with mesmerizing believability by Robson Green, has a special talent for understanding the criminal mind, going so far as to empathize with even the most disturbed perpetrators. Through six seasons (and possibly more to come), the series follows Dr. Hill as he navigates the land mines of his life, from tough cops who doubt his worth – including the female Detective Chief Inspector he’s increasingly attracted to – to the sensitivity-challenging situations he finds himself in as he profiles human monsters and solves crimes. Don’t watch this series unless you’re prepared to put your hands over your eyes every now and then. I was and did, and it was worth it.

Have fun sitting on the edge of your seat in the dark.

If you know of other high-quality, not very violent British TV crime dramas, I’d love to know about them.

Janurary 3, 2010: And now there’s also a British TV Crime Dramas – Part Three.

However we spend this holiday season – surrounded by family members who drive us bonkers or fill us with joy, alone and bored or satisfied, or in the quiet nest of close family, there comes a time when a break would be nice. May I recommend a British television crime drama in such a case?

The recommendations here are chosen with great care for the nature of the sensitive soul. They are the shows I enjoy the most, picked because they favour intellect over violence and offer interesting characters. Take the list to the DVD store and you may find that, back at Family Holiday Central, you’ll gather a late-night crowd of fellow viewers who share a need for quality down time.

Happy viewing, and I wish you and your loved ones a peaceful and intriguing holiday season.

State of Play – I gush. I can’t help it. State of Play remains at the top of the British TV crime drama heap for me. Set in London, the action follows the investigations of a team of tenacious newspaper reporters as they explore possible connections between two events. The quick deaths at the beginning (tame by American crime show standards) are worth weathering to watch the long remainder of the story that unfolds around them. With brilliant acting by the entire cast, including James McAvoy and Bill Nighy, this six-part, 350-minute thriller grips from the very beginning.

A Touch of Frost – Detective Inspector Jack Frost warms my heart because he remains an unruly kid at heart, even though he’s well into middle age. His run-ins with his stuffy boss, his teetering piles of papers and coat-pocket filing system endear him. And he’s aces as a detective, to the surprise of many. The series started in 1997 and is still running. The first seasons show their age, but if it interests you at all, stay with it for better production values as the series progresses.

McCallum -The glorious John Hannah plays the title role of Dr. Iain McCallum in this two-season series from 1995. Though McCallum is a forensic pathologist, the focus is on the characters’ personalities and the insights used to solve crimes rather than the gore of the crimes themselves. Like Jack Frost, McCallum is a misfit, a man with a big heart and a rebellious streak who struggles to be the person he wants to be. There are nine episodes in this series, but I strongly recommend skipping number nine altogether – the real story ends with episode eight and McCallum doesn’t even make an appearance in the markedly lower-quality final episode.

Amnesia – Scottish Actor John Hannah also stars in this TV 145-minute mini-series. Hannah plays Detective Mackenzie Stone, a man who finds himself questioning his own mental health at the same time he investigates a man who has amnesia – or does he? Amnesia delivers well-managed twists and turns, including a main character with enough problems of his own to compellingly complexify the story’s layers.

Stay tuned for British TV Crime Dramas – Part Two, coming up within the next month.

Janurary 3, 2010: And now there’s also a British TV Crime Dramas – Part Three.

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

~ Mother Teresa

Five ways to beat the family holiday blues:

1. Ask about what you want to know. What’s it like having a second husband? How did you survive the war? Why does Aunt Mabel dislike you so much? Who was your first love? Can I borrow the car?

2. Convince your favourite person at the gathering to do something alone with you. Take a walk. Go out for tea or cocktails. Hang out at the local bookstore together. Play Frisbee in the park in the snow. Visit the wax museum.

3. Watch The Family Stone. Watch it alone and cry. Or laugh until you cry. Watch it in the room that will gather a crowd. Try out the recipe for the Morton Family Strata (see the DVD special features). Watch it again. Show it as a double feature with Dan in Real Life.

4. Get a hotel room. Do it from the beginning. Or do it after a day or so. Do it for yourself if you need to, when you need to. Even a cheap motel can be a relief. Tell everyone – or don’t. Invite someone else who appears to need a break over for pizza and frank talk or silliness.

5. Examine yourself. Write 100 pages in your journal (at the dining table while they’re cleaning up around you, while everyone else is watching TV, in your hotel room bed) in answer to the question What false expectations about my family do I need to let go of?

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

~ Carl Jung