Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: Matthew Rhys, Ann Skelly, Jamie Dornan, Valene Kane, Charlene McKenna, Martin McCann, Sean McGinley, Michael Smiley, Francis Magee, Des McAleer, Ciaran Flynn, Aoibheann Mullan, Paul Kennedy, Eugene O’Hare, Pip Torrens, Conor MacNeill, Frankie McCafferty.
Against the backdrop of the fight for radical Irish independence from Britain in the 19th Century, a story of corruption, betrayal and tragedy is neatly interwoven through a 24 hour period in the life of Beth Winters, a condensed down reflection of what was happening across the Irish Sea, the pride of individuality and freedom from what was arguably seen as a distant master, one who made all the rules but wanted to keep the people in chains, if not physically, then at least metaphorically.
Death and Nightingales is a rare beast in which the attitude of the drama is forthcoming but its final presence in the eye of the viewer is blighted by the almost unforgiving slow burn that accompanies it, the tension of the three-part serial somehow allowing itself to become deliberately gradual, not so much measured, but somehow continuing, again reflecting the state of the nation as it found its feet to have a serious champion in its corner to bring the Irish nation together and fight the British on its terms.
Death and Nightingales is visually stunning, the characters deep and ones that deserve investigating, and yet it cannot be helped but noticed that the endearment felt is one that doesn’t go beyond trying to be profound, appearing to be completely intense and sincere, not once straying into the path of enlightenment.
By presenting the unfolding drama as one over an unnaturally short time, there is little in the back story that allows the viewer to feel empathy, you can easily understand the motives, the desires, but there are few opportunities to feel compassion for any of the protagonist’s plight or lives.
With a cast that included Matthew Rhys, Pip Torrens, Jamie Dornan and Charlene McKenna, it would perhaps be expected that the production would be penetrating, insightful and earnest, yet there is little heart in which to bind the three-part drama together, in which to win over the audience.
Like an exquisitely wrapped present sitting underneath a highly decorated tree, it wouldn’t be unfair to draw the conclusion that what lays beneath is an item of extraordinary wealth, the disappointment comes at various stages, the overriding one that you realise presentation is the main aim, what lays beneath is easily forgotten.
Ian D. Hall