The Miniaturist

In The Miniaturist, a young woman marries a stranger and finds herself living in a mansion full of mysteries. After her new husband gives her a doll house, a creator of miniatures begins supplying her with prescient gifts for the house.

Looking like a Vermeer painting, full of mystery and portent, gorgeously filmed, with a beautiful sense of period, I loved the first half of this two-parter.

As the series moved into a second half in which the lack of character development became more noticeable, with main characters unexplored and some at-first intriguing characters fading from view, I became less enamored, although the story and style were still compelling.

The greatest disappointment was in the title character. My issue was less the explanation, which was underwhelming yet was a satisfactory reversal of direction, but in the complete lack of explanatory motive that made the core of the series seem like a cheap narrative device.

With no narrative or emotional core, The Miniaturist is a beautiful but hollow experience.

The cast is good and I enjoyed this for the most part, but when it was all over I just had a "that's it?" feeling.

I can't really recommend or not recommend it. It should have been better but overall it's still generally pretty good.

The basic source of seduction for this mini-serie is the atmosphere. As beautiful embroidery of cultural references, from Vermeer and Rembrandt to Victorian Gothic stories. The week point - maybe...atmosphere. More exactly, its pressure who seems transform the characters in clay sillhouettes. In essence, a beautiful adaptation , unrealistic in few points but real seductive for the flavors of a lost time. So, a sort of gem. Maybe not original but aestheticall at whole.

There seems to be some confusion among British and American viewers writing here, yes? The 156-minute production seems to have been shown in two episodes on British TV while PBS is showing the production on Masterpiece in three episodes of 52 minutes each. No surprise there- think back to the showing of "Bleak House" and how it was presented quite differently to the two audiences in terms of episodes. BTW, it seems a fine production to me, not at all thin and poorly-conceived. Quite the opposite!

I started watching the first episode and did not move. It is beautiful. It is light and dark, funny and disturbing. It is worth the time and I will definitely watch it again. The acting was first rate, but the sheer beauty of the lighting and the sets, especially the miniature steals the viewer's attention.

Jessie Burton's 2014 debut novel 'The Miniaturist' does have a good deal to admire. Although some of the characterisation lacks depth (especially Johannes of the main characters), Burton's depiction of the 17th century Amsterdam setting is so attentive to detail that one feels like unseen observers of the action and the atmosphere has a real eeriness and mysteriousness.

Its 2017 adaptation does a very respectable job adapting it. There is a lot to admire and there are not a lot of adaptations that manage to be faithful in most detail and the spirit of the source material without being too faithful. 'The Miniaturist' manages this obstacle very well. It is easy to see why it won't click with some viewers. For a BBC period drama (or any kind of television period drama for that matter), it is quite unconventional, the setting is not one seen a lot, it's not adapted from the work of a famous novelist like Charles Dickens or Jane Austen, it's a slow burner and there are a few scenes not for the faintest of hearts.

'The Miniaturist' is not perfect. Telling who is who in the supporting roles is not easy at first, that and that it never quite overcomes the book's characterisation shallowness (Johannes did seem underdeveloped at first, and the supporting roles are fairly sketchy other than how they serve to the story and any important events), are the first half's only real problems for me.

Second half is very compelling and quality is extremely high throughout, but not everything felt resolved enough. The miniaturist explanation seemed half-baked, confused and needed more time than it had to explain it properly (flashbacks may have helped perhaps) and a couple of subplots like the sugar one didn't feel tied up enough and still felt hung open by the slightly abrupt end.

However, 'The Miniaturist' is hugely successful everywhere else. Visually it is quite an achievement. It's sumptuously shot, atmospherically lit and the period detail is like a puritan era-set/Rembrandt painting come to vivid life. The mix of austere and not-so-austere (with flashes of brighter colours in Nella's costuming) costumes was striking. The doll's house was beautifully designed and suitably mysterious, while the miniatures were exquisitely eerie.

Music score was understated yet hypnotic. The dialogue provoked thought and intrigued without letting go. It is very stirring and taut in the trial scene too. Where the 'The Miniaturist' (2017) really succeeds too is in the atmosphere, again advantaged by the source material. The story unfolds in a slow-burner way but the mysteriousness, subtle tension, eeriness and dark dread to me it didn't feel ponderous. The climactic moments are quite powerful, and, even though one wishes they could have gotten to know the characters more, it is hard not to feel that the outcome is an injustice.

Direction is atmospheric and draws out uniformly great performances from the cast. In particular Romola Garai, a revelation in a formidable but complex roles. Anya Taylor-Joy enchants and affects as Nella, avoiding making her too passive, while Alex Hassell is brooding and charismatic, particularly telling in the trial scene where Johannes makes a very persuasive case for himself. Hayley Squires is a spirited Cornelia while Geoffrey Streatfield brings authority to Frans, a character that part of you hates.

Overall, very well crafted and very admirable. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox