It's perfectly understandable why "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" would remain such an enticing title for adaptation. After all, it's not every day one gets to complete the work of Charles Dickens, who died in the middle of writing the novel, leaving the narrative and the mystery itself hanging in the air. With such a storytelling gap to fill, screenwriters and playwrights have been offered a rare opportunity to finish what Dickens started, taking this tale of murder and jealousy into multiple directions while attempting to remain true to the general lean of the source material. This BBC take on the trials and tribulations facing the good residents of Cloisterham is a mixed bag of Dickensian distractions. While finely polished, lit, and professionally acted, there's a lack of life to the proceedings that keeps the material decidedly unadventurous, electing a tone of hysteria over anything beguiling, while the conclusion leaves much to be desired. Perhaps it's futile to even attempt to complete the construction of this dramatic bridge without a full set of narrative blueprints from Dickens, and while "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" hits a few highlights of paranoia and accusation, it can't shake an air of dullness that hangs over the production.
A choirmaster for the local church, John Jasper (Matthew Rhys, "The Edge of Love") is also a hopeless drug addict, taking to opium to soothe his rattled soul. Returning to his company after a long absence is beloved nephew Edwin Drood (Freddie Fox, "The Three Musketeers"), a fresh-faced young man ready to accept his destiny by marrying Rosa Bud (Tamzin Merchant, "Pride & Prejudice"), a woman he carries little romantic feelings for. While Edwin and Rosa figure out their plans in the face of cruel realities, John soaks his feelings in laudanum, feeling intense jealousy for his nephew after spending years pining futilely for Rosa. Also in town are Helena (Amber Rose Revah, "From Paris with Love") and Neville Landless (Sacha Dhawan, "Outsourced"), two illegitimate children of the elder, and long dead, Edwin Drood, Sr., who've arrived from Sri Lanka for a fresh start, hoping to find their place in society after being shunned by their father. When Neville's terrible temper is triggered by his feelings for Rosa, and John's frustrations begin to infect his dreams, confusion erupts when Edwin is lost and assumed murdered, allowing the accusations to fly fast as everyone looks to dig deeper into the disappearance, prompting a crafty law clerk named Bazzard (David Dawson, "Luther") to mount his own investigation, stumbling upon secrets that threaten to tarnish the roughed up Drood name forever.
Divided into two episodes, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" isn't much of a mystery at all. And how could it be, really? Since Dickens left the story mid-movement, it leaves the material with a host of motivations but little payoff, with the burden of cohesion left to screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes (the upcoming Alfred Hitchcock/Tippi Hedren study, "The Girl"). The writing is immensely troublesome, floundering with characterizations that have to be solidified in a hurry, with the main players divulging their troubles in a speedy manner, reducing the organic flow of behaviors and psychological troubles. Bazzard, a critical player in this Dickensian game of "Clue," isn't even introduced until the second hour, diluting the consequence of the role by breezing through its nuance. While slopping the players around the story with all the delicacy of mashed potato service on a prison lunch line, Hughes does retain some sense of the original writing, preserving language ("mollycoddle" being a particular favorite) and hidden desires to the best of her ability, while direction by Diarmuid Lawrence captures life inside Cloisterham superbly, displaying a grungy sense of a community fighting to retain their civility despite detours into opium dens, crypts, and gothic cathedrals.
Missing from "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" are proper introductions, as displays of shock and anger emanate from the performers early on in the miniseries, without any clue as to why there's tension in the room. More time with John, Edwin, Rosa, and the supporting cast in the opening act is necessary to establish certain relationships, thus creating more urgency when true interpersonal dynamics are revealed. The ensemble is basically a pack of strangers for the first 30 minutes of the effort, generating unpleasant distance from the emotional textures of the tale. The production finds even ground when it locks on to a feel of desire emerging from John and Neville, who silently compete for Rosa, with the choirmaster's focus of lust taking on a monstrous quality in Rhys's feverish performance. The pop of extreme behavior makes a positive impact on "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," establishing more of a bite to the material than its forays into hallucinatory imagery (spread throughout the program) and accusations of murder. A few of these foggy moments in John's life take on an "Evil Dead" quality, but it's not pursued fully enough to satisfy. The production is better with bitter rejection and stalker confrontations than exposing the evildoing appetites of its characters.
As for the murder at the core of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," there's really nothing to report. To put her own stamp on the material, Hughes elects for a soap opera ending of moderate absurdity, perhaps overly concerned with keeping Dickens fans in the dark long enough to mount a surprise finale. It's a dud conclusion, which seems perfectly in line with the rest of this tepid effort.
The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation carries a mild softness to romanticize period appearance, though fine detail remains strong throughout. Facial textures are fully realized, with close-ups providing a crisp sense of wear and tear, while unspoken dramatic presentations register in full. Skintones looks healthy and natural. Shadow detail thickens when found in low-light scenarios (most of the effort is captured with candlelight), obscuring some scenes of tension. Dense hairstyles and costuming fare better, permitting the viewer to grasp the nuances of production achievements. Colors are intentionally muted to keep up with the Dickensian misery, yet most hues remain expressive, with a good sense of interior regality and exterior decay. Some minor banding is detected.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix carries a pleasingly hollow sound for entrances into cavernous interiors, with a light touch of echo to bring scale to the settings. Dialogue is of primary value to this track, bringing force to emotional exchanges, with rich voices communicating easily understood accents. Scoring brings solid support, kept at bay until scenes require a specific sonic lift without disrupting the performances. There's little activity here to bring about a robust feel of dimension, leaving the track workable without being remarkable, though the attention to interior changes assists in creating a satisfactory feel for atmospheric locations.
While the temptation to finish what Charles Dickens began in 1870 must be unbearable to creative forces, I'm not convinced it's a challenge worth undertaking. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" has elements of greatness, powerful with depictions of possession and encroaching madness, but it's hopelessly incomplete, without a firm direction to realize an enticing murder mystery spotlighting the selfish and possibly self-destructive actions of its characters. The BBC take is lovely to look at, with satisfactory performances to stoke the dramatic fires, but it doesn't take long before the production finds itself completely lost.
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