Black Narcissus

Black Narcissus is a story of ghosts, wind, faith, frustration, sexual tension and madness. The story has touches of gothic horror with nuns unraveling against a mountainous backdrop. The production values , period costumes and also by the maddening wind, which fills the sound design of the musical score it is extremely effective in this FX miniseries event remake of the classic 1947 film of the same name.

The underrated Gemma Arterton steps into the shoes of Deborah Kerr to play the role of Sister Clodagh, and she made the character her own. Arterton is a very talented actress. She conveys one individual's inner conflicts within an organized religious group; and the suggestion that all the nun's had lives before they became nuns and not all of them are suited to "The Life". She adds depth and tension with her struggle with lust and temptation, regret, devotion, and cultural differences.Her acting superb.

As the deranged Sister Ruth (Aisling Franciosi) is fabulous in her role, falling victim to various desires and insecurities in ways that are heartbreaking.

The performances by Gemma Arterton and Aisling Franciosi sister Ruth (who starts to unravel from pretty much the minute she gets to the Himalayas) are superlative, their facial expressions revealing deep heartfelt emotion and pain.

Black Narcissus FX mini series event was well done. This is satisfying melodrama and wonderful television . Bravo. FX/BBC .

Characters lacked depth as did the script and the plot. It resembled a mediocre episode of Death in Paradise, painfully and laboriously stretched out across three tedious hours. Repetitious, predictable and irritating. Given the continual windy conditions one would have also thought Mr Dean might have found time in his busy schedule of getting on and off his horse to fix some bolts on the shutters and a balustrade around the bell tower!

I've never read the book - and most reviewers say don't bother! The '47 film was superb and one can not compare a TV version of 180 minutes with a far shorter film. David Farrar was memorable, and his performance is matched by the current guy, who I suspect is of Italian origin, although married to Emily Mortimer. Professional TV critics in the UK have a very mixed range of stars and that indicates a very mixed range of talent. I suspect the older critics that saw the film will rate the TV series a lot lower than younger critics. For my part the writing and directing are both sub-standard, with ridiculous brief 3 seconds? flashbacks that have no dialogue or clues as to what is being shown. The last two episodes will not be watched by me.

I can't agree with the grumbling viewers here who obviously are not used to thoughtful slow paced dramas. Black Narcissus the new T V version stays fairly close to the Powell and Pressburger classic 1948 film that made a star of Deborah Kerr, although I did see it a long time ago. Gemma Arterton, who I have no trouble watching for three hours, takes the Kerr lead, all very strict and committed on the outside but throbbing with burning passion inside her breast. Her object of desire is the handy man Mr Dean, looking and acting not dissimilar to David Farrar in the film, who clearly feels the chemistry and would like to return it. This can only be achieved on screen by long drawn out moments that build to a finality of some sort, be it happy or sad, but I'm not revealing it here. This pairing is complicated by Sister Ruth who has an overwhelming crush on Mr Dean but finds her love unrequited when she first tells him. This leads to the inevitable triangle, but will any of them achieve any happiness? The nuns are played by some well known actresses including the great Rosie Cavaliero and Gina McKee. Yes, it's slow but my wife an I were hooked for the 3 night showings. Jim Broadbent crops up to see if Sister Clodagh (Arterton) is successful or not at the teaching mission, rather like an area manager checking the staff at Tesco. I loved the special effects, excellent for a TV film, unlike some grumblests on here. I suspect some critics with low attention spans are only used to the fast edit movies of these days and have no appreciation of old fashioned melodramas like this. More please.

Don't be fooled by the bad reviews! Black Narcissus is a great series that deals with complicated issues, such as inner conflicts and forbidden feelings. The photography and costumes are truly exceptional. The quality of the acting is top notch.