An Inspector Calls

Having seen the original movie and a rather strange stage version starring the late Barry Foster, I had no doubts about the content of this telemovie - but was curious about how this modern version would treat it. Brilliantly cast, it did not disappoint, although it did tend to drag at times. On the whole the suspense was well maintained and it stayed quite close to the original, although the later scenes after the Inspector left the house were new and added little to the overall story. In fact it would have been better without them. This is a story that has to be taken at face value (the mystical part aside) - it would be easy to question the possibility that all the persons gathered together in that household had the impact they are supposed to have had on one young woman. It was written as a morality play, very relevant to its times and even today relevance can be found in many of the disclosures made. It tells us to think before we act and to be less likely to prejudge and to take responsibility for our actions. An interesting story, that makes you think - what more can one ask for?

I saw the 1954 version and although I liked it very much I didn't cry. I saw this version and I just couldn't stop crying. The ending was utterly heartbreaking and although I usually disagree with changing the endings of well known books, plays etc (for example Agatha Christie's works that on the newest adaptations it's some kind of a "norm" to change the endings) I hoped down to the last second of the movie for the ending to change. An amazing adaptation. One I will never forget.

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.

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

Believing that the original 1954 version of Guy Hamilton was on TV I actually watched the 2015 BBC version of Aisling Walsh. Aisling Walsh is an Irish director who has done much work for TV (in 2012 she also made a "Room at the top" remake for the BBC), but with "Maudie" (2016) she also made a feature film for theatrical release.

I can't compare (as yet) with the original version, but the 2015 version is very well, with good period atmosphere.

"An inspector calls" is based on the play of the same name by J.B. Priestley (1945). Earlier Priestleys novel "Benighted" (1927) had been adapted by James Whale into the movie "The old dark house" (1932). Both novel and play are comments on the English class society.

The story of "An inspector calls" is about the suicide of a working class girl. During an interrogation by the mysterious inspector Goole (being a group interrogation, this gives the play / film a very Agatha Christie like flavor) it turns out that all of the members of a wealthy family have contributed in one way or another to this suicide.

The story has aged very well. I would like to call attention to a couple of things in particular.

In the beginning of the film the father of the wealthy famlily says "It is not important where you start in life, it is important where you finish". The old American dream phrased differently. His own family is the living proof of the fact that it does matter where you start in life.

Inspector Goole is very mysterious. He seems to be omniscient, interrogating to force a confession and not to learn more himself. He makes a very moralistic farewell speech, in which he says there are thousands of people like the poor working class girl in the story. It is obvious that he is not an ordinary police inspector. It is for the spectator to decide who or what he really is.

The members of the family ar all guilty of the suicide of the girl. There guilt is however ethical and not legal. It is disenchanting to see how quickly some members of the family recuperate when they become aware of this distinction.