Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Paul Dano, Lily James, James Norton, Jessie Buckley, Jack Lowden, Aisling Loftus, Tom Burke, Tuppence Middleton, Callum Turner, Adrian Edmondson, Rebecca Front, Greta Scacchi, Aneurin Barnard, Mathieu Kassovitz, Stephen Rae, Brian Cox, Kenneth Cranham, Gillian Anderson, Jim Broadbent, Kate Phillips, Olivia Ross, Thomas Arnold, Adrian Rawlins, Ken Stott, David Quilter, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Otto Farrant, Chloe Pirrie, Rory Keenan, Terence Beasley, Pip Torrens, Guillaume Faure, Ludger Pistor.
Some works of fiction almost have their own indomitable aura about them, so much so that it may appear to the naked eye as they either glaze over with the chapters running into each other, or the feverish fingers grasping the ever-sharpened pencil as it makes footnotes and scribbled memos in a book all of its own, that such narratives and artistic literature specimens, cannot, or will not, ever truly convey their brilliance when adapted for television or for the cinema.
An epic of storytelling deserves care, it justifies attention and caution in equal measure; read it for its beauty and you could find that you will never love again, absorb it for the intensity of the mind that created it, that had the dedication in which to sit down and pen a novel that spans an entire part of their life, then you know you will cradle that moment forever. It is then to theatre, television, cinema, any medium that can visualise the epic, to stand up and make the writing come alive, make the author more than just an ethereal night watch-man or lady with a lamp looking over the shoulder of the volume of pages before them.
Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace is such an epic, like J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings or Stephen King’s sublime The Stand, such books warrant pride in capturing the essence of the author, as well as the narrative; without one, you cannot have the other and when framed with absolute regard, when placed onto the screen with love, then the audience is guaranteed a moment of illumination.
The difficulty comes with the book itself, so many have wanted to devour its pages, so few have actually been able to with hand on heart; and yet in the B.B.C. adaptation of 2016, such thoughts are fleeting, for what comes across in the six-part serial is patience, stamina to tell the story with as much elegance as possible, without ever sneering or looking down upon the audience. It is a charge that the B.B.C. hold dearly, the need to show Tolstoy’s work of to its greatest effect is an all-powerful elixir, it may be sweeping, it may arguably be extensive, but it is never derogatory to those willing to invest their time.
With American actor Paul Dano playing the central character of Pierre Bezukhov with great sensitivity, the cast, a testament to the abundance of talent available to the production team and the director, give some of their best performances on screen, Adrian Rawlins, despite only appearing for such a limited portion of time, is immense as the suffering prisoner of war Planton Karataev, Jessie Buckley captures the regret and flowering pleasure of her down at soul Marva Bolkonsky, Tuppence Middleton and Tom Burke excel beautifully and Adrian Edmondson offers complete trust in his elegant and ultimately destroyed head of the Rostova family.
War & Peace on the small screen is an epic in itself; a beautifully crafted, sweeping story of desire and the death of a nation’s innocence, and its eventual road to recovery, an epic that outclasses many other adaptations of classic literature. A genuine pleasure that is worth every moment invested in it.
Ian D. Hall