shallowness

I didn’t realise that they’d be adapting each novel in three parts or that we’d be getting more than one – the build-up passed me by, I only saw the one trailer once. Also I’ve only read each novel the once, so my memory of the books may be hazy. My reaction to the adaptation, on the whole, is positive.

Episode 1

The use of the BBC’s 70s(?) font is interesting given that the books are linked to very specific times and events (was Bing a thing whenever The Cuckoo’s Calling was set?)

The theme song was a bit too on the nose for me, but I like the two actors they’ve cast, even if they weren’t quite as I imagined the characters. There’d obviously been a lot of thought put into conveying Cormoran’s physicality. I’m not sure that Burke is that imposing IRL (I don’t know, though, maybe he is), but I thought the use of clothes suggested it, and Burke never forgot the slight limp. I’m out of the loop, so I don’t know if there has been a fuss about not casting an actor with an amputation. I can’t have been the only one going ‘Body double, body double, CGI?’ when we did see the stump.

I’m glad they didn’t wallow in the Charlotte break-up quite as much as the book did. They also made good choices to show how observant he is.

I’ve seen less of Grainger than Burke, but liked her performance in ‘My Cousin Rachel’, and I thought she conveyed how sensible and nice Robin is well, and, like her, we were invited to be intrigued by the case and the business of investigating it. I don’t remember if the mimicry was quite such a strong aspect in the book, or if it was more about the actress, but Cormoran’s impressed reaction was promising. At that point, I thought the actors would pull off the characters’ rapport. Matthew was perfectly unsuitable as Robin’s fiancé.

Actually seeing the locations was a big plus (I had a vague idea of some places), especially the caffs, and visually the juxtapositions with the airy luxury flats, now only a third full, left quite a mark. As did seeing the montage of Lula’s last hours (I will note here that part of this was through the paparazzi’s eyes, and the programme that was aired just before this by the BBC was one about Diana’s death. Yeah.)

Martin Shaw’s posh accent seemed overdone to me.

A few of the book’s weaknesses remained, but I thought this was promising to be an elegant adaptation.

Episode 2

What became clearer with this episode was that, after Cormoran and Robin, London is the third most important character, with Cormoran acknowledging the gentrification and blatant inequality (not digitalisation) in his drunken rant. Seeing the contrasts between Cormoran’s temporary housing solution and the empty, spacious scene of the crime, or the types of London served by Robin’s current job and prospective one has a different impact to reading about them. Visually speaking, they’ve also made good use of the models’ images around London.

Lucy came across as nervier in what little we saw of her, but the point was to inform us about Leda and the effects of her death on Cormoran and to touch on the similarity between her death and Lula’s. (Red herring that that was.)

I’m enjoying the niceness Cormoran is showing Robin and vice-versa, although there was a lot of awkwardness for her as she bore witness to a lot of his personal business. His getting drunk (which of course Burke played beautifully because he had all that recent practice as Athos) was more effective as a reaction to Charlotte’s engagement because we hadn’t had quite as much of his angst as in the book. Cue Robin being the matter-of-fact crutch and friend he needed (as opposed to a temporary secretary trying to make an impression on her boss because her job matters hugely to her).

Having Cormoran talk to his prosthetic (does he do this in the book? I don’t recall) is a good device as if it were where his conscience is to be found, although maybe the idea is that because it isn’t his flesh and bone, it has a more objective view about his choices. The bit where he had to check with Chiara (sp) that she hadn’t slept with his father or half-brother was telling.

Episode 3

I offer the game of calling out (or drinking) every time you see a staircase on the show. Ahem.

It occurred to me that maybe the song was meant to be about Cormoran’s phantom limb, but it still doesn’t rescue it.

They had been building up going to Vashti in the previous episode, and I didn’t mind, because it’s a big moment. Grainger’s Robin is obviously pretty (although she was fiddling with her hair so much that I was desperate for her to just put it back in a ponytail), but in The Green Dress, she’s a wowzer. I was confident about this very important moment based on the costuming choices so far, and the dress was classic enough, while being very flattering, and I thought they choreographed Cormoran coming upon her in it well. (If she hasn’t had any magazine covers yet, Grainger should now.)

Having said that, Guy Somé’s gloves looked like something you’d walk past on a market stall because they looked so cheap and nasty.

There was lots of Robin being naturally good at finding stuff out, Cormoran having an excellent grasp of the facts and the details – again, I liked the use of montage to go over what we already knew, even though I’d be interested in non-readers’ response to the whodunit and how it landed. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention and they may have set up how Charlie died, but the cycle bell didn’t mean anything to me.

SHANKER! He looked more put together than I imagined him. Surely that bit of evidence would have been inadmissible and John Bristow would have known that, although obviously he was too high on the idea of killing a nuisance to be thinking like that, and I thought the actor was good in the final confrontation.

Robin was using Charlotte as her model for the woman Cormoran, as her fake brother, was meant to marry, yes?

The moment on the roof where he grabbed her was powerful – a reminder of his strength, but obviously reminding her of the spoiler from the books.

I will be watching bits of the adaptation of ‘The Silkworm’ through my fingers.

Huh, the number of fics up at AO3 has not exploded - I was expecting there to be slash by now. Perhaps after the episodes have finished airing/when it airs in the US... On the other hand, who knows if there will ever be icons.