![]() ![]() The stage is set for a murder mystery to unfold. When Edwin (Freddie Fox, The Three Musketeers) arrives in Cloisterham, the tension ratchets up quickly: Rosa confesses she doesn’t wish to marry, Neville gets angered by Edwin’s racially insensitive remarks and brusqueness towards Rosa, youthfully gormless Edwin makes it clear he’s rather fond of himself, and all the while Jasper seethes with envy and lust while finding refuge in opium-fuelled fantasies of strangling Edwin. ![]() Neville (Sacha Dhawan, The History Boys), meanwhile, finds himself rather smitten by Rosa. Helena (Amber Rose Revah) is taken in at the Nun’s House, where she quickly befriends Rosa. Severely complicating Jasper’s pervy aspirations is the fact Rosa is betrothed - by dint of her late father’s will - to the age-appropriate Edwin Drood, who also happens to be Jasper’s nephew.Īdding more complexity is the recent arrival in Cloisterham of two orphaned siblings from Ceylon, Neville and Helena Landless (a bluntly symbolic surname from Dickens’ pen). He also lusts after 17-year-old Rosa Bud (Tamzin Merchant, The Tudors), an orphan who lives in the Nun’s House of Cloisterham. Choirmaster John Jasper, played by Matthew Rhys (ABC’s Brothers and Sisters), feels trapped in what he sees as a humdrum existence and seeks escape in an opium den. As its unsubtle name suggests, Cloisterham is a place apart, and much of the local activity centers on the cathedral. Most of the action takes place in Cloisterham, a fictitious stand-in for the actual town of Rochester. Part one hews closely to the Dickens book. ![]() ![]() This made-for-television film is broken into two hour-long episodes, and is divided as such on the DVD. With Hughes’ thoughtful writing, solid direction by Diarmuid Lawrence and great performances by a talented cast, this latest entry in the Edwin Drood canon provides a praiseworthy finish to Dickens’ incomplete story. Since that time, there have been several attempts - in print, on stage and on the big and small screen - to sort out the story’s ending. Unfortunately, Dickens passed away before he could finish the work. The Mystery of Edwin Drood, a co-production of the BBC and PBS Masterpiece and released on DVD this month, is based on the Charles Dickens story of the same name. “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” underscores why the author’s work remains so vibrant in a project timed to the 200th anniversary of his birth, and why its appeal to a PBS audience is hardly a mystery.There’s a curious credit in the opening titles of part two of The Mystery of Edwin Drood it reads, “Completed by Gwyneth Hughes”, a nod to Edwin Drood’s biggest mystery of all: how it ends. Although that principally applies to Rhys - who brings touches of the Phantom of the Opera to his carnal, musically pursued desires - it also includes an assortment of Dickensian characters, from the tippling caretaker (Ron Cook) to the officious lawyer (Alun Armstrong) advising Rosa regarding her options. When Edwin finally goes missing, the story takes the first of several turns, leaving several unlikely characters to play the sleuth role.Įven those not particularly taken with the story can get lost in the Gothic cathedral, moody cinematography (by Alan Almond) and fine performances. On top of that, a pair of mysterious orphaned twins arrive, Helena (Amber Rose Revah) and Neville (Sacha Dhawan), who hail from Ceylon and have an axe to grind against Edwin, or perhaps the Droods.ĭirected by Diarmud Lawrence from Hughes’ teleplay - only the latest in a series of stabs at resolving a story Dickens died in the middle of writing - the movie seeks to create a sense of dread by capturing Jasper’s opium-fueled hazes, which are shot in a surreal fashion that soon grows wearisome. While Edwin is extremely fond of his uncle, the dark, brooding Jasper harbors a simmering desire for Rosa, which complicates his feelings toward the “bright boy,” as he calls him. Edwin has been engaged forever to the 17-year-old Rosa (“The Tudors’?” Tamzin Merchant), who isn’t so sure about going through with the marriage that her late father wanted. Rhys plays John Jasper, a choirmaster who is uncle to the title character, Edwin (Freddie Fox), an attractive and amiable if not particularly distinguished lad. ![]()
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