"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The Devil’s Whore: Episode 1 (2009)


Let me try and explain why I came to The Devil’s Whore.  The always-excellent John Simm.  Michael Fassbender.  Maxine Peake, who I loved as Veronica on Shameless.  Dominic West.  Starting to get the idea?
 
This miniseries takes the events leading up to Oliver Cromwell’s defeat of Charles I and views them through the lens of Angelica Fanshawe, a fictional noblewoman.  We open on Angelica about to marry her best friend since childhood; but though she celebrates her love and good fortune, she soon sees that friends aren’t husbands, and the boy she once knew isn’t the man she’s married.  Furthermore, while her husband is the king’s man entirely, Angelica can’t help but feel sympathy towards those who face punishment and torture for railing against unjust rule.
 
PC gets in on the historical side of things, playing none other than King Charles I.  Of course, I already know how things will turn out for him, but episode 1 shows a self-assured man who is willfully deaf to his people’s voice.  As his country roils with upheaval, the indulgence and show of court life continues unabated, and he captains a ship he refuses to admit is sinking.
 
The main focus of The Devil’s Whore seems to be on Angelica – the increasingly tumultuous relationship between Charles I and his subjects could be a metaphor for her and her husband, and much time is devoted to her growing interest in the rebels.  So, PC hasn’t had an enormous role so far, and I’ll always associate Charles I with Stephen Fry’s riotous Blackadder performance, but PC’s doing a nice job.  He plays the king with a slightly delicate prissiness, all softness and vanity at first glance.  And yet, he’s fond of his absolute power, and he proves that he can go cold and hard when he meets the least resistance.  I’m interested to see where he goes from here.
 
One more actor to mention – Harry Lloyd appears in episode 1 as the king’s nephew.  Between this role, Son of Mine on Who, Steerforth in David Copperfield, and Viserys Targaryen on Game of Thrones, his go-to move seems to be mixing different levels of arrogance, creepiness, insanity, and moral bankruptcy.  I have no idea how he managed to get cast as the delightful Herbert Pocket in the recent BBC miniseries of Great Expectations; talk about casting against type!
 
Accent Watch
 
RP, I’d say.
 
Recommend?
 
In General – I’m optimistic.  Seems like a pretty good historical drama, and the cast is stellar.
 
PC-wise – He hasn’t had too much to do yet, but what I have seen makes me want to see more.
 
Warnings
 
A fair amount of sexual content – some discussion, brief nudity, and multiple sex scenes.  There’s also some violence, including battle scenes and bloody 17th-century punishments.


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