Jamaica Inn

It is so very easy to see what has gone wrong with this production. The magnificence of Daphne Du Maurier's work has been taken too lightly, and in some obscure way, it seems to have been deemed old fashioned, and in need of retelling.

The direction is without equal in all the realms below average, and scarcely superior to some of the worst ever set loose on the television or film industry. No attempt has been made to create characters even close to those penned by Daphne Du Maurier, and all seem to have been painted variously good, strong, weak, or evil, with a yard broom, and played to the hilt on that basis.

Daphne Du Maurier was able to write strong female characters without making them creatures that never existed and probably never will, she understood the evil that people do and the reasons behind it, something which seems to have escaped the sensibilities and sensitivities of the people involved in producing, directing, and even acting, in this travesty of Jamaica Inn.

OK so first things first the sound is a bit dodgy, but persevere because the screen crackles with tension. The writing is good and the filming style doesn't disappoint. It's suitably dark, and no one, not even out our heroine Mary Yellen, looks pretty in that vapid way that some costume dramas enjoy. She's a bit grubby, but still attractive, so she seems more realistic, because she isn't portrayed like Anne of Green Shipwrecks. The locations are treated like another character in the story. The acting is exciting, with huge amounts of magnetism. Each character has an interesting back story that is sometimes hinted at, sometimes explained. The thing I noticed first is that everyone is dirty, their hands, their hair, their clothes, and of they would be. Smuggling is a dirty business, this production lets you see just how dangerous and desperate it is.

The only version of Jamaica Inn I had watched before this was the one with Jane Seymour,which I'm quite fond of.I have noticed that because of recessions,we seem to be having spates of darkly lit grim dramas,and intense acting.There's nothing wrong with that of course,but It starts to feel like all other dramas rolled into one,because really it felt to modern,too abrasive for the time it was meant to be set in,and the excitement and tension was lost (I did feel they gave away the culprit to early).Plus the audio,Sean Harris was the worst,which is a shame,as he is a very good actor,possibly giving the best performance in the entire series,despite his mumbling growls.Jessica Brown Findlay gave a believable performance as Mary Yellan,credit to her that we didn't even remember Lady Sybil as she romanced a thief.Overall a series I watched,but would not watch again,best to watch the Seymour version,or The Thirteenth Tale,the bbc didn't even widely advertise it,and it was remarkably better than this series.

Watch on Netflix so you do not suffer the mumbling. Do not watch for continuity issues. I was reminded of Crime and Punishment and some sad personal memories. I was very naive at that age and had never experienced true evil. It wasn't until 9/11 in downtown Manhattan that I truly realized that true evil exists. This level of casting and acting are rarely seen on film. I was duly horrified at many points. I was going to recommend it to my daughter but she does not need to see this reality at this point in her life. The brutality is portrayed in its real form, and many of us in America are descended more from the Moors of England, than the pretty pictures of Jane Austin.

I read the novel many years ago, and loved it. This adaptation struck the right mood, it seemed to me, dark and subtly sinister. I didn't have problems understanding the dialogue, for the most part--yes, Joss Merlyn is a mumbler, but I remember that as being in character.

I did think some of the "night" scenes on the beach could have used better light filters--they look like it's mid morning on an overcast day! At times it did seem a little heavy-handed,and as a fan of BBC drama, I wouldn't put this in my upper tier favorites. But I did enjoy it, found the performances to be generally good (Jessica B-F made a very good Mary Yellen, who is not a simplistic heroine)and the sweeping moorland scenery was a plus as well.