Monsignor Renard

This film shows most of the horrors of war without being too graphic. The actors portray their characters wonderfully, whether you hate the character or love them. Every character has a depth that seems to be hard to find. You can't help but become emotionally involved.

While the plot and the meanings of the movie were well done, and heartfelt, character development was not the greatest. It was hard to know who was who, until part three. Personally, as a Dominic Monaghan Fan, I was disappointed in his quite small roll, but still, seeing Dom Monaghan's early work was good.

The movie made you feel like you were actually in that time, and made you question yourself a lot. It was touching, but gruesome in some parts. The emotions and the way the characters act really put you in their shoes. The movie lets you in onto the World of Monsignor Renard. I personally thought this movie was well done, and good.

This unsung series went almost unnoticed when first broadcast. Like Foyle's War, it stares right in the face of some of the unpalatable truths about WW2. It's a gem. Sadly only four episodes exist, I think.

French and British people on the Home Front didn't all behave stoically. There was more collaboration than Resistance in France and very little Resistance at all for the first two years. Monsignor Renard is set in The Forbidden Zone, in the fictional village of St Jos-sur-Mer, close to Calais and focuses entirely on the life of the village, rather than the war, which comes to an abrupt halt halfway through the first episode. The excellent portrayal of everyday life under occupation tops everything recent and contains some great performances from Thaw, Cheryl Campbell, Andrew McCulloch and a very classy crew of native German actors.

Unfortunately, it was just getting into its stride when the plug was pulled and John Thaw, who was never better, tragically passed away. But what there is, is good enough. If you felt short changed by Charlotte Gray, or even if you liked it, you'll enjoy this more.

This is a very well written drama, beautifully acted with a fantastic cast set in authentic settings and must have been very expensive to produce. Why then did it fail to attract viewers and only run to four episodes. To my mind, the main failure was in allowing the English actors, playing French men and women, to speak with (presumably their own) English regional accents. While this was common in earlier films and series, here it jars with the otherwise laudable visual and plot-driven attempts at authenticity. Quite why this is so much of an issue is difficult to pinpoint, but it is very much akin to colour-blind casting and strains the credibility for viewers, particularly with only the Germans characters using their native language. It's other failing is it's music, which makes scenes of high drama overly mawkish. It is well worth watching, but deserved a far longer run.

Monsignor Renard's only flaw was how abruptly it ended, the show really did feel incomplete and cried out for another series at least. And it probably would have done if it hadn't fallen victim to costs, with location shooting being expensive and the financial crisis at the time, and if John Thaw hadn't died so ultimely two years later. Its cancellation was nothing to do with lack of quality, if remembered correctly from what I read about it it was a ratings success and those who've seen and remember it do so fondly. It is a shame really because Monsignor Renard was a great series; it was very well-made with splendid locations(the scenery is the equal of that in A Year in Provence, another John Thaw gem and also shot in France) and the photography was professional and allowed us to enjoy it. The music was mostly understated while having some searing and suspenseful without being obvious. Monsignor Renard was intelligently scripted and is very thought-provoking; characterisation-wise it doesn't quite avoid stereotypes but the characters are interesting at least and while the Germans are more sympathetic than the French here Monsignor Renard doesn't try to be too one-sided. With the story there was a sense of the uneasiness and tension of the time but also how good the leadership was between the character and there is always room for a good-natured and warm-hearted approach, both of which Monsignor Renard has. The cast play their parts beautifully with the accents more than convincing. Cheryl Campbell, Andrew McCulloch and Dominic Monaghan are great but acting honours do belong to John Thaw in a role that is not quite among his best work(Morse, Kavanagh, The Sweeney, Goodnight Mister Tom) but stands out favourably among his latter work. He is classy and commanding and communicates a lot and sometimes just with his face and eyes. All in all, a great series that deserved a stronger resolution and better chance than what it got. 9/10 Bethany Cox