Death Comes to Pemberley (2013)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Death Comes to Pemberley – a miniseries in three parts – is a historical drama which premiered on British television (BBC) in 2013.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Director: Daniel Percival

** Writer: Juliet Towhidi

** Based on the 2011 book Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James (1920-2014) – a modern continuation of Jane Austen’s famous novel Pride & Prejudice

** Released on DVD in 2014

** Run time: 3 x ca. 60 minutes = ca. 180 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

The first group

** Matthew Rhys as Fitzwilliam Darcy

** Anna Maxwell Martin as Elizabeth Darcy – Fitzwilliam’s wife

** Jenna Coleman as Lydia Wickham – Elizabeth’s sister

** Matthew Goode as George Wickham – Lydia’s husband

** Trevor Eve as Sir Selwyn Hardcastle

 

The second group

** Rebecca Front as Mrs Bennet – Elizabeth’s mother

** James Fleet as Mr Bennet – Elizabeth’s father

** Tom Ward as Colonel Fitzwilliam

** Eleanor Tomlinson as Georgiana Darcy – Fitzwilliam’s sister

** James Norton as Henry Alveston – a lawyer

 

Death Comes to Pemberley is not only a period piece, it is also a crime story. Perhaps we can say it is a case where Jane Austen meets Agatha Christie.

 

I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. Therefore, I am not going to say anything about what happens in this drama.

 

What do reviewers say about it?

 

Here are the results of two review aggregators:

 

** 71 per cent = IMDb

** 82 percent = Rotten Tomatoes

 

On Amazon UK there are at the moment more than 1,900 ratings of this product, more than 1,000 with reviews.

 

The average rating is 4.7 stars which corresponds to a rating of 94 percent.

 

Here are the details

 

5 stars = 80 percent

4 stars = 12 percent

3 stars = 5 percent

2 stars = 1 percent

1 star = 1 percent

 

If you ask me, all these ratings are too high.

 

I think this drama is overrated.

 

Why?

 

Because it has a serious flaw:

 

The two leading characters – Mr and Mrs Darcy - are miscast:

 

** Mr Darcy should own every scene in which he appears, but he does not.

 

I am sorry to say this, but it is true!

 

** Mrs Darcy should own every scene in which she appears, but she does not.

 

The actress, who plays Elizabeth, is much too old for this role and she has no gravitas. As one reviewer says, she looks like the kitchen maid!

 

I like historical dramas and I do not object to combining a period piece with a crime story. But this adaptation of P.D. James’s book cannot be described as successful.

 

It is neither great nor good. It is average. This is why it deserves a rating of three stars (60 percent).

 

*****

Death Comes to Pemberley

A historical novel 

by P. D. James

(2011)

 

*****