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The Shadow in the North (2007) (TV)
16 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Great production!, 31 December 2007
Author: adelaide-9 from United Kingdom
I was somewhat worried that this episode might deviate too far from the original book, especially as "The Shadow in the North" is my favourite of the Sally Lockhart quartet. However, I was pleasantly surprised, it stuck extremely close to the book and really brought Philip Pullman's creation to life. The acting was superb, Billie Piper as the Financial Consultant-cum- detective Sally Lockhart was very convincing as the feisty, yet vulnerable young woman who is pulled into a dark underworld of corruption and murder. Equally, Jared Harris as evil tycoon Axel Bellman was great- understated yet chilling, just as Pullman envisaged him. I can't fault the script or pace of it either, it was gripping but managed to obtain the essence of dialogue/ storyline without leaving out anything significant, and some adaptations might tend to do. Overall, highly enjoyable and entertaining, a worthy adaptation of Pullman's great story!
5 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Hmm...oddly unengaging considering the good story and talent, 1 January 2008
Author: LouE15 from United Kingdom
In the second in Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart trilogy, his heroine Sally Lockhart, parentless and alone, has found a ramshackle, surrogate family in Fred Garland's photographer-cum-private investigator, his uncle, and cheeky cockney Jim Taylor. Protected by her enormous hound, Chaka, she is now a financial consultant, using the patchy education her father had given her to advantage and staunchly defending her independence in Victorian London. The story kicks off with two events: one of Sally's clients explains that she has been ruined by the failure of a business she invested in on Sally's advice. At the same time a magician named McKinnon seeks Fred's help as he believes he has witnessed a murder. These circumstances combine to make a thread that leads straight to a dangerous businessman and sinister work in a factory in the north, and great danger for all of Sally's friends.
I'd really enjoyed "The Ruby in the Smoke", the first of the adaptations of the brave and modern Sally Lockhart trilogy, when it aired on British TV last Christmas. I was very excited to hear a sequel was planned; thought the chemistry between the radiant Billie Piper's Sally and J J Field's pleasing Fred Garland had worked well, and the stories are strong base material, even if squished into a TV slot.
But...maybe it was watching this with my parents when it aired over New Year on British TV - but I found this strangely detached, even a bit mechanical. This time round the leads' chemistry seemed to be absent, the script dry, the story rushed (as was the previous one) - the relations between the characters insufficiently explained. Considering we'd had to wait a year for this one, I was a bit disappointed. Perhaps the aim was to make a classroom-suitable programme for Victorian History lessons? - if so, why air it post watershed?
I wouldn't mind watching it again to find out whether it was just a false first impression. Sally is the Victorian heroine girls need today; I've got a lot of time for both leads; the baddie, Bellmann, was quietly menacing; and I admire and respect the thoroughly enlightened casting policy, which reflects British society today in a way which you'll see in very few other historical TV shows. Bravo for this at least. It also looked amazing, packed with great period details. If they make it to the third in the trilogy I'd be very surprised, but would hope that they can find a way to better draw out the drama and excitement. Meanwhile, the excellent original books are a must if you enjoyed this even a bit.
Minor achievement for the BBC, 12 August 2008
Author: Mart Sander from www.martsander.com
The Sally Lockhart mysteries proved to be a mild disappointment. They are not up to the usual BBC period drama standards - or rather they haven't gotten the period drama treatment. The story relies heavily on a Victorian atmosphere, but you rarely get this in the film adaptations. First of all, Miss Piper, lovely and talented as she is, has the least Victorian beauty imaginable. She is so much AD 2000 that every scene with her in it loses every kind of credibility. One can argue that women were born with different features in olden days - but they pretty much tried to rearrange their facial muscles to imitate the accepted standards of any given era. Where today's actresses try to make their lips appear lush and succulent, every Victorian girl would have subconsciously made every effort to make her mouth appear as a tiny rosebud. The same goes for eyes, hair, posture, gestures. Miss Piper walks straight out of 2007 and makes everything around her 2007.
Watching the adaptations, one also gets the impression that the Victorian society was very welcoming to different races and accepted them into the society with open arms. Almost in every single shot featuring the London society, there are Asian, Caribbean and Black people, the latter even boosting rasta hairstyle on one occasion. The golden truth however is that representatives of these races only got into contact with The Society as footmen and servants, and never ever mixed with them.
My overall impression was that these adaptations were meant for a young viewer who cares little for the authenticity of a traditional well mounted BBC period piece production. If you want some moderate tension and a fairly watchable entertainment with some good moments, don't hesitate to view these films. I don't regret sitting through them at one go, I only wish I would have been totally overwhelmed.
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