by Conan Simmons – November 24, 2020 – 6:38 am
Nuns in 1934 India are sent to a mission high up in the Himalaya’s where their new home overlooks a foreboding cliff.
Gemma Arterton stars as Sister Clodah, a woman oppressing her feelings of the past and trying her darndest to resist temptation after meeting rugged individual and free spirit, Mr. Dean played by Alessandro Nivola. Stressed with keeping her buried passion in check while maintaining balance in the natural culture clash with the locals of colonial India, she finds her hands full when Sister Ruth, played by Aisling Franciosi, begins going crazy possibly from being possessed by the ghost of a woman who committed suicide at the bell tower twenty years earlier.
This three part miniseries also features Jim Broadbent as Father Roberts and Diana Rigg in her final screen appearance as Mother Dorothea. Both appear only briefly with not much to do other than set the plot in motion at the beginning.
Directed by Charlotte Bruus Christensen and adapted by Amanda Coe from Rumer Godden’s 1939 novel, the opening credits on the series may as well named the 1947 film by Michael Powell and Emerich Pressburger as a source. Everything about this series looks like it’s trying to copy that film even when it expands on the story by brief flashbacks to Clodah’s past or exploring other characters.
Filmed partly in Jomsom, Nepal the art direction does a good job recreating the look of the 1947 film. That film, however, was shot entirely in England at Pinewood Studios. The art direction for the 1947 film won the Oscar as did the fantastic cinematography. What filming on location in Nepal adds to this current remake is essentially nothing. This miniseries copies so much directly from the Powell/Pressburger production that there is no real need for this iteration.
Even the cinematography tries hard to copy the vibrant colors of the 1947 film, which won another Oscar for Jack Cardiff, but doesn’t quite match it relying a little too heavily on blues and pinks.
The miniseries is watchable, with a good cast, as it attempts to match what made the 1947 film the classic that it is. Unfortunately it falls flat without building up the expected tension in the end when Sister Ruth finally snaps. Aisling Franciosi does fine in the role but the script and directing chooses to play it down without giving it the vivid lighting and makeup that helped Kathleen Byron, who played Sister Ruth in 1947, give one of the most terrifyingly psycho performances on film.
For anyone who has seen the original film there is little to no reason to catch this overlong miniseries unless you’re a fan of the actors. It’s fine melodrama but pales in comparison to the vibrant, vivid colors of the 1947 classic.