Death and Nightingales

Death and Nightingales really has a lot going for it with an interesting kind of plot and a great cast of actors who are all very present and good in their roles.

But the third episode which is final part of the miniseries manages to unravel the goodwill I felt for the protagonist which is the main reason for the low star rating. The problem is that the other actors Matthew Rhys and Jamie Dornan give many kinds of signs in their expressions and what not that they are redeemable characters. And I did not feel Ann Skelly (though I like her) really had enough motivation for it to make sense to do what she did or for us to root for her. I believe this is probably the fault of the script or the novel it adapts from for the poor decisions Ann Skelly's character makes or her near non existent decision making process. But at any rate Ann Skelly can't quite pull of her character's melodramatic and novelistic morbid way of speaking, probably largely because the rest of the series isn't stylistic like that so it seems acutely peculiar at times.

But otherwise I think at times they almost pull off a hard to pull off story, I mean beyond the failure of episode 3. I think this series did a decent job for what it is. Very atmospheric with a repetitive but fitting soundtrack.

Watch just to enjoy the performances that you can. Enjoy the ride but don't expect much in the way of a meaningful conclusion.

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 scenery is probably the only element of this three-part series that isn't bleak and grim. Set in 1880s Northern Ireland, Beth lives with her wealthy, landowner/quarry owner stepfather, Billy, who is a depressed, occasionally violent, frequently drunk, lecherous and bitter man. She falls in love with Liam, a local Catholic tenant farmer and pro-Parnell Republican who convinces her to assist a plot to procure dynamite. Matthew Rhys as the bitter Billy delivers the most passionate, believable performance. Ann Skelly as Beth veers from wooden and expressionless to histrionic overacting with long, boring monologues. Jamie Dornan's Liam is mostly sour and cold-it's hard to work up much interest in his character. Would have preferred him to be more charming and seductive to believe that Beth, who is in her 20s and well educated, would want to do anything to be with him. He looks good, of course, but has absolutely no personality.

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.

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.