Articles + Quotes on Film & TV

Like with any truly excellent thriller, this one pulls you in from the get go and keeps you thoroughly intrigued by the goings on of undercover work in the 1970's, in London. Which is when the world was very much afraid of what Soviet Russia was up to. The mood of the times and the subsequent actions of the main characters are faithfully recreated, as are the period cars, costume and every piece of essential paraphernalia, including the typewriter. Brian Cox steadies the raft of (relative) unknown cast members, Joe Hughes (as Joe Lamb, the protagonist), Jonathan Aris, Victoria Hamilton, Shaun Dooley, Paul Ritter, Chloe Pirrie and Marcel Iures. All give their roles their all, something that sets this series from others, is that every character has many layers for us (and the other characters) to unravel. Just when you think you have them pegged, they reveal yet another layer and its something else for you to think about, after first considering the various happenings of the ep...

Based on the books by Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall details Henry VIII's desire to divorce his first wife and all that that entails, from the point of view of a lawyer - Thomas Cromwell. Here he is portrayed by Mark Rylance. Cromwell starts (in the pilot) as lawyer to the slowly fading (in power and later health) Cardinal Wolsey, here portrayed by Jonathan Pryce. Both men are quick witted with the other powerful men that they come into contact with, Henry VIII (here portrayed by Damian Lewis), Sir Thomas More (here portrayed by Anton Lesser), among others.  A more than just essential quality, knowing when and what to say and in what manner often meant the difference in whether your fortunes would rise or fall or - if you were going to get a little more than usual taken off the top. Hats off to the writers for keeping the pace swift and the barbed and veiled comments coming from all directions - yet you still follow the story with little to no difficulty. The rest of the (major) c...