An Inspector Calls

I have for a long time enjoyed J B Priestley's famous "time-play" having read it and seen it performed in the theatre more than once. This BBC Drama version plays it relatively safe, staying true to the era and by and large to the text. It's very well acted by its ensemble cast with David Thewlis almost ghoulish as the soft-spoken, avenging "Inspector" Goole, Ken Stott as the self-important patriarch Mr, soon-to-be Sir Birling and especially Sophie Rundle as the spirited but doomed Eva/Daisy/Alice whose fate casts a long shadow over the whole Birling family, father, mother, son, newly engaged daughter and her well-to-do fiancé Mr Croft, assembled at the Birling mansion to celebrate the engagement.

The play is opened up just enough so as you'd notice with some external scenes but mostly, as you'd expect it's played indoors, intensifying the drama to a backdrop of hypnotic chamber music as the plot edges inevitably to its climaxes. I say climaxes because of the two big reveals that Priestley employs, firstly exposing the hypocrisy of the staid pre-Great War English society in their links to this young woman's demise and then the brilliant twist at the end just when it seems as if they've all gotten away with it.

Some of Priestley's wider themes seem to be just that, i.e. wide of the mark, like his prediction of a bloody uprising by the downtrodden working classes, although considering the social upheaval later in the depicted decade, obviously with events abroad in Russia, Ireland and Weimar Germany to name but three, never mind the General Strike and Red Clydeside disputes of the post-War era here in Britain maybe he wasn't so far out either. It's only in the words and actions of the two youngest members of the afflicted Birlings that we see any hope of societal change in the future as we observe their conscience-stricken reaction to events, neither tainted by the jaundiced, self-motivated experience of their elders.

The treatment of the Inspector I thought played up the fantastic element just a little too much with the extended epilogue showing him as a sort of omnipresent spirit surrounding Eva as she comes to her fateful end almost as if the director felt the need to explain his unexplained presence,which for me reduced the character's effectiveness as the pricked conscience of the group, his last appearance should really have been after he finished with the family at the house.

Nevertheless, any production like this which respects the context of the original play as this one undoubtedly does, even if at times it creaked rather than crept along, still managed to entertain me just as it always has, as a taut, cleverly written, psychological thriller with a moral in the tale.

As an English student who recently read thoroughly the play this movie is based of, my main thoughts about this film is that it's a perfectly crafted piece that follows the plot of the play quite accurately, but I also consider myself quite "unexperienced" in the matter because I have only seen this adaptation and not the rest- so maybe by watching the rest of the movies my opinion on the quality of this movie may differ, but I hope that not drastically.

To be honest, right at the beginning when the characters were presenting themselves at the dinner table I found most of their portrayals quite bland and out of character in a sense- especially Eric and Sheila. I found them lacking that strength and uniqueness that had made me strive for them while reading the play, but then again it's true that at the beginning their personalities were much more superficial and that were mostly developed as the play progressed- something which was shown naturally in the film.

Nevertheless, as soon as the plot starting moving the skepticism faded away and I was left awestruck by the actors' outstanding performances; Mr and Mrs Birling were just how I pictured them throughout the story; Gerald was given much more emotional depth than what I had imagined and Eric even though it wasn't how I initially thought of him made me comprehend a completely different interpretation of his character. I am not quite sure of Sheila yet, but I do have to admit that Chloe Pirrie reflected her major character development, but I imagined Sheila as a more immature and naive girl in the beginning. Let's not forget about Sophie Rundell's breathtaking job as Eva: taking only brief descriptions from a dead girl and turning that into a round character with a profound, political and representative meaning behind it.

Even if the characters' portrayals is essential to the film, what really sticks to the audience are the audiovisuals, and I can assure you this film excelled in that job. The shots were beautiful and gave the story a deeper meaning for me as a viewer and indeed hinted many subtle messages that otherwise wouldn't have made much sense. Above all, what most impressed me was the score; from the beginning until the very end the score was used skilfully to match the characters' emotions in certain scenes, but the feeling of strings and a piano matched the main themes of the play, and probably may be the main reason for my passionate liking of this film.

Inspector Goole arrives unannounced at the home of the Birling family. The family had been celebrating the engagement of daughter Sheila, to Gerald Croft, a match that would unite two powerful businesses. The Inspector informs the family of his business, that of the death of a young woman, Eva Smith. It turns out each member of the family has encountered Eva, and each in turn damaged her life in some way.

I must admit I had my doubts beforehand about this, I tend to think sometimes if it ain't broke don't fix it, I love both the 1954 and 1982 versions respectively. This though had me utterly engrossed, it was an outstanding version. It looked superb, the factory scenes looked incredibly authentic, as did the scenes in the house.

I liked how it began too, not straight into the dinner setting, we were given a little bit of background. From then on it kept to the story beautifully, it must have been tempting to have tweaked it in some way. Definitely the most serious version of it, no softer humorous side, this was pretty bleak. I couldn't pick a standout performance as I thought every cast member was wonderful.

Truly captivating, 10/10

After watching this movie adaptation of An Inspector Calls, I felt that this remake turned into a great success. At first the characters weren't what I expected, most of them seemed quite simple and bland and thought that the actors weren't suited to to their roles. But as the film progressed my attitude towards the characters changes, Eric and Sheila aren't the spoiled brats I thought they were- they actually care about the death of this young woman. Gerald, I realized has more emotional depth Han I gave him credit for, but Mr and Mrs Birling we're exactly what I thought they'd be like and their attitudes towards Eva didn't really change. As for the Inspector I thought that David Thewlis did a great job being the Inspector and his character was also amazing but what I didn't like about the Inspector was that towards the end of the film, he starts time traveling (Priestly hinted that the Inspector was supernatural) but I started getting very confused and became unsure of if he was there before she died and it was a flash back or he is the reason she is dead... I have no idea. But overall this was an amazing movie and I really enjoyed it.

I went into this with an open mind, as i knew it was a remake. Right from the start i was captivated by the enveloping period atmosphere and way the story weaved its story. The plot was simply superb, exposing the class divide and way that others can be mistreat their fellow man, without any conscious or care for the consequences. The lessons in humanity ring as true today as they did in that period so its still highly relevant and should provoke some internalising. However putting that all to one side the acting was simply top drawer and David Thewliss contribution was truly spellbinding. He was so commanding throughout and more than a match for the wealthy opposition he encountered that night. This was so good that i actually watched it three times back to back, as every scene was so immersive and tense. So if you like good drama you would be hard pressed to beat this and all the more amazing was the fact it was mostly delivered in a drawing room, so that speaks volumes for the way it was acted. So I hope you enjoy this period piece as much as i did