The Casual Vacancy I
Feb. 16th, 2015 12:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakAka the miniseries based on JKR's first post-Potter novel. My review of said novel is here, spoiler free except for comments on the personalities of the main characters and on the general premise. So, observations on how the tv version does so far:
- first obvious difference is that Barry Fairbrother gets killed off in the first pages of the novel, though because a lot of people remember him throughout the novel, we get to know him later, whereas on the tv show he doesn't die until the half-mark of the first episode is reached. This strikes me as sensible for a visual medium because it establishes Barry's personality and role in Pagford and The Fields in a show, not tell way, and there won't be a need for flashbacks later. (The stuff Barry does during his half hour of living are things he's remembered in the novel as doing. Also Rory Kinnear is pretty endearing)
- secondly, something that's only noticable in the book if you've read the Harry Potter series is that JKR, after seven books which were, with the exception of prologues, written strictly from one point of view alone, in The Casual Vacancy revels in the new freedom of the multiple povs. Because films and tv work differently, this isn't something that translates, the tv show does as tv shows do, though something that does come across is that this is an ensemble story without a single main character (though perhaps hypothetical unspoiled viewers think Barry is the main character until he drops dead?)
- the first council session gets across the politics of the novel and the central issue quickly and efficiently; because Barry is still alive here and making a passionate speech, the tone is far more optimistic than the biting satire and social anger which I remember as the overall tone of the novel, but the satire and anger starts to kick in later when Howard is on the prowl and Samantha immediately deduces what he's going to do re: Miles and Barry's empty seat on the council
- speaking of Samantha, she's played in her E. Albee-esque glory by Keeley Hawes who looks a bit better than I imagined Samantha but otherwise is great; however since Samantha is one of the few characters in the novel who after hitting rock bottom develop for the better in the aftermath of Certain Events Later, I'm not sure about the choice of letting her argue against Howard with Miles here already, as opposed to just loathing her parents-in-law, because I'd have thought that's something to build up to
- Howard is played by Michael Gambon who doesn't have Howard's weight but has the genial hedonistic manner with the ruthless capitalist tyrant behind it down flat; the scene where he makes it clear to Miles that if Miles doesn't run as Barry's replacement and does what he says, he'll cut off the money for his granddaughters' school fees, all by playing the loving grandfather, being a good case in point
- the actress who plays Shirley, aka possibly the character most loathed by the author: hits the Dolores Umbridge spot
- the voice of the actor playing Colin sounded extremely familiar but because of the wig it didn't hit me until his second scene, which is when I went "OMG! It's Herrick!" (From Being Human.) Utterly different character, great actor, and I'm glad they picked him because of the scenes to come.
ETA: Nope, astorn_eledwhen points out, it's not Herrick, it's Archdeacon Robert from Rev. But the voices do sound similar, I swear!
- Parminder and Tessa both in the first episode come across as very sympathetic, as does Kay, with the Parminder/Sukhvinder problem only hinted at so far by Parminder's impatient manner with her daughter; it took me longer to warm up to them in the book, though they didn't do anything differently, so I think possibly the presence of actresses is the cause? BTW, while villain Howard's physical weight has been reduced from page to screen, good character Tessa is still of the roundy type, which is great since it avoids the cliché of all important younger female characters looking like models; Kay's actress has a normal figure, not tv slenderness, either
- the teenagers: Sukhvinder didn't get any lines yet, so it's hard to say whether the young actress is up to her; Andrew's young actor is great, and btw, the abusive situation at the Price's comes across crystal (no pun intended) clear (Simon is revolting) without graphic scenes, though the threat hangs in the air, but it's obvious that Simon's abuse of his family relies on verbal assault as much as anything else; Stuart aka Fats is hasn't yet been shown as the bully he is but in the novel this comes across most glaringly in his interaction with Sukhvinder, so I'm assuming these scenes are still ahead; Krystal's love for her little brother, fierceness and desperate situation break my heart already. (BTW, though again, the fact Krystal, too, can be a bully hasn't been revealed yet because Sukhvinder so far has been a silent role.)
- the first episode ends with the "Ghost of Barry Fairbrother" posting the first message at Shirley's website, though for some reason, we're not shown who is typing said message; I wonder, does the tv version plan to play this as a mystery with a later reveal? Because in the novel, it's not a mystery at all, we're always in the pov of the person when they type the messages.
- first obvious difference is that Barry Fairbrother gets killed off in the first pages of the novel, though because a lot of people remember him throughout the novel, we get to know him later, whereas on the tv show he doesn't die until the half-mark of the first episode is reached. This strikes me as sensible for a visual medium because it establishes Barry's personality and role in Pagford and The Fields in a show, not tell way, and there won't be a need for flashbacks later. (The stuff Barry does during his half hour of living are things he's remembered in the novel as doing. Also Rory Kinnear is pretty endearing)
- secondly, something that's only noticable in the book if you've read the Harry Potter series is that JKR, after seven books which were, with the exception of prologues, written strictly from one point of view alone, in The Casual Vacancy revels in the new freedom of the multiple povs. Because films and tv work differently, this isn't something that translates, the tv show does as tv shows do, though something that does come across is that this is an ensemble story without a single main character (though perhaps hypothetical unspoiled viewers think Barry is the main character until he drops dead?)
- the first council session gets across the politics of the novel and the central issue quickly and efficiently; because Barry is still alive here and making a passionate speech, the tone is far more optimistic than the biting satire and social anger which I remember as the overall tone of the novel, but the satire and anger starts to kick in later when Howard is on the prowl and Samantha immediately deduces what he's going to do re: Miles and Barry's empty seat on the council
- speaking of Samantha, she's played in her E. Albee-esque glory by Keeley Hawes who looks a bit better than I imagined Samantha but otherwise is great; however since Samantha is one of the few characters in the novel who after hitting rock bottom develop for the better in the aftermath of Certain Events Later, I'm not sure about the choice of letting her argue against Howard with Miles here already, as opposed to just loathing her parents-in-law, because I'd have thought that's something to build up to
- Howard is played by Michael Gambon who doesn't have Howard's weight but has the genial hedonistic manner with the ruthless capitalist tyrant behind it down flat; the scene where he makes it clear to Miles that if Miles doesn't run as Barry's replacement and does what he says, he'll cut off the money for his granddaughters' school fees, all by playing the loving grandfather, being a good case in point
- the actress who plays Shirley, aka possibly the character most loathed by the author: hits the Dolores Umbridge spot
- the voice of the actor playing Colin sounded extremely familiar but because of the wig it didn't hit me until his second scene, which is when I went "OMG! It's Herrick!" (From Being Human.) Utterly different character, great actor, and I'm glad they picked him because of the scenes to come.
ETA: Nope, as
torn_eledwhen points out, it's not Herrick, it's Archdeacon Robert from Rev. But the voices do sound similar, I swear! - Parminder and Tessa both in the first episode come across as very sympathetic, as does Kay, with the Parminder/Sukhvinder problem only hinted at so far by Parminder's impatient manner with her daughter; it took me longer to warm up to them in the book, though they didn't do anything differently, so I think possibly the presence of actresses is the cause? BTW, while villain Howard's physical weight has been reduced from page to screen, good character Tessa is still of the roundy type, which is great since it avoids the cliché of all important younger female characters looking like models; Kay's actress has a normal figure, not tv slenderness, either
- the teenagers: Sukhvinder didn't get any lines yet, so it's hard to say whether the young actress is up to her; Andrew's young actor is great, and btw, the abusive situation at the Price's comes across crystal (no pun intended) clear (Simon is revolting) without graphic scenes, though the threat hangs in the air, but it's obvious that Simon's abuse of his family relies on verbal assault as much as anything else; Stuart aka Fats is hasn't yet been shown as the bully he is but in the novel this comes across most glaringly in his interaction with Sukhvinder, so I'm assuming these scenes are still ahead; Krystal's love for her little brother, fierceness and desperate situation break my heart already. (BTW, though again, the fact Krystal, too, can be a bully hasn't been revealed yet because Sukhvinder so far has been a silent role.)
- the first episode ends with the "Ghost of Barry Fairbrother" posting the first message at Shirley's website, though for some reason, we're not shown who is typing said message; I wonder, does the tv version plan to play this as a mystery with a later reveal? Because in the novel, it's not a mystery at all, we're always in the pov of the person when they type the messages.
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Date: 2015-02-22 04:45 am (UTC)