An Inspector Calls

Such a shame, for such a great story! The setting and the younger actors (as previous reviews have mentioned) were doing an alright job, but knowing the story and the fact there was never going to be a time when Mr Birling was not in it, I could stand no more than 10 minutes unfortunately.

The actor who plays Mr Birling is clearly the directors father who appears to have no acting experience, or the gift of being able to retain a script to memory. The woodeness and side glances at script cannot be ignored and distracted from everything else! I admire those who could give full reviews of the entire drama.

I'm not even saying this just because I studied the play, this is absolutely horrific in every conceivable way, one of the worst things I've ever laid eyes upon. Watching this makes a 10 hour testicular torture session from Hades look like a spa day. I wanted to pour disinfectant on my eyes for every soul suckingly horrendous frame of this steaming pile of dung. What an absolute heap of visual faeces. I wouldn't wish a full viewing of this tripe on my worst enemy. The fact that this won best ensemble cast is beyond me, if this is the best, the worst must be a group of decomposing corpses. I wish nothing malicious upon the cast and crew, I just pray to every God that has ever been believed in, that they never attempt anything like this ever again. I've seen better acting from a parapalegic cow.

The setting, props, lighting, camera work, costumes and makeup are massively let down by poor performances and wild liberties with the lines, to the point that much of Priestley's well crafted ironies are lost. It seems like some actors are learning their lines just before the camera starts rolling while John Farries seems particularly poorly cast and out of his depth with the character of Mr Birling. Leona Clarke's flirtatious Sheila would be fit for a character in 2014 but not 1914 and detracts from the play's didacticism. Martin Nadim's Inspector lacks eye contact, gravitas and authority, appearing more as Columbo than voice or moral reason. Penelope Wildgoos' portrayal of Mrs Birling leans into the cold upper-class matriarch to a good degree and creates a distant unapproachable character but sadly this contrasts poorly with J Farries portrayal to the point that Mr and Mrs Birling appear as little more than acquaintances. Some credit should be given to Jason Farries who portrays well the upper-class entitled Gerald Croft.

Having taught the text for a number of years I found the amateur nature of casting to be a real detriment to what could have been a wonderfully accurate portrayal of An Inspector Calls, much needed in the classroom. While the 2015 BBC production makes use of its budget and cast it becomes difficult as a teaching tool due to the constant flashbacks which remove the claustrophobia of the original production.

Here was an opportunity to become a classroom staple praised by teachers for accuracy sadly lost to poor casting and performances which struggled under the weight of sophisticated characters.

As an English teacher, I'm always looking for ways to bring texts to life for my students. Watching this version of An Inspector Calls was painful - the acting, particularly that of Arthur Birling, is horrendous. It was laughable.

I would not recommend this version - at all. It's not worth it.

Absolutely appalling, totally unconvincing performances by every single cast member. Loosely based on the great JB Priestley play, this film is a very pale imitation.