Whitechapel

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Rating 2½


Directed by S J Clarkson

Written by Ben Court and Caroline Ip

Starring Rupert Penry-Jones, Phil Davis, Steve Pemberton, Johnny Harris, Sam Stockman, George Rossi, Christopher Fulford, Alex Jennings, Sophie Stanton and Paul Hickey


Detective Inspector Joseph Chandler (Rupert Penry-Jones) is being fast-tracked by senior police officials. He is appointed by Commander Anderson (Alex Jennings) to head up what appears to be a straightforward murder enquiry in Whitechapel, his last step towards promotion to a senior ranking position. The fastidious and book educated Chandler immediately comes into conflict with cynical down-to-earth Detective Sergeant Ray Miles (Phil Davis) and his team of officers, not least because he insists on taking a hands-on approach and questions their methods and motivation.

Edward Buchan (Steve Pemberton), an eccentric “Ripperologist”, approaches the police, claiming the murder is a copy of that of Mary Ann Nichols, the first canonical victim of Jack the Ripper. He is dismissed out of hand by Miles, but taken seriously by Chandler, creating even more animosity between the two. However, when a second murder bears the hallmark of the Ripper’s second victim, Annie Chapman, it seems that they have a copycat killer on their hands.

Chandler begins to win the respect of his men, but comes into conflict with his superiors. They have no interest in the victims or the ongoing investigation; they simply want to avoid public scrutiny and bad press.

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‘Whitechapel’ was broadcast on ITV in three one-hour segments over a three week period. It gets off to a very ropey start, seeming to follow the path taken by the utterly appalling Lynda La Plante police drama ‘Above Suspicion’, which was broadcast by ITV during Christmas 2008. However, although it continues to be decidedly hackneyed in many respects, it does improve dramatically, particularly during the second and third episodes. Much of the credit must go to Rupert Penry-Jones and the excellent Phil Davis, who work very well together and make two decidedly clichéd characters more interesting than they have any right to be. Penry-Jones is certainly more successful here than he was in the disappointing BBC adaptation of ‘The 39 Steps’. Steve Pemberton, from ‘The League of Gentlemen’, is also watchable in the role of the slightly creepy Jack the Ripper expert.

There is probably not enough substance to the other police officers working the murder enquiry, meaning that they tend to blur into a single entity, and there is too much reliance on annoying visual trickery to try to create an atmosphere. Modern day Whitechapel bears little resemblance to the district that Jack the Ripper haunted back in 1888, but not enough is made of those little nooks and crannies that do remain from Victorian London.

It isn't brilliant, but it is a lot better than I feared it might turn out to be. The Jack the Ripper story is a well-worn path that no longer offers much in the way of surprise, but this is an interesting variation on the theme.

Review posted 17 February 2009



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The 39 Steps (2008 version)

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Rating 2


Directed by James Hawes

Written by Lizzie Mickery, adapted from the novel by John Buchan

Starring Rupert Penry-Jones, Lydia Leonard, David Haig, Patrick Kennedy, Patrick Malahide, Eddie Marsan and Alex Jennings


Richard Hannay (Rupert Penry-Jones) has reluctantly returned to London from Africa. He encounters Scudder (Eddie Marsan), who claims to be a spy working for the Secret Service Bureau. Scudder says he has uncovered a German plot to assassinate a member of the European aristocracy and so plunge Europe into war. He gives Hannay a code book, but is then killed by German operatives. Hannay is accused of the murder and flees to Scotland, searching for evidence to prove the plot and clear his name. Once there, he is assisted by Victoria Sinclair (Lydia Leonard), the daughter of Sir George Sinclair (David Haig), a member of the National Committee of Defence.

This famous novel, written by John Buchan, a Scottish-born politician, and first published in 1915, has been filmed several times, most famously a version directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935. This new version was produced for the BBC and first broadcast during the Christmas 2008 schedule.

The novel is very much of its time, with the British portrayed as gentlemen and the “Bosch”, as they are repeatedly referred to, portrayed as scoundrels who will stop at nothing in pursuit of their aims. Frequent references are made to cricket. By any present day interpretation, the story, or at least the characters portrayed in it, betrays bigotry and xenophobia typical of the British mentality, even if the story itself draws on the real-life assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand for inspiration.

To counteract this and give the story a more contemporary feel, the new adaptation portrays Victoria Sinclair as a suffragette, constantly bickering with Rupert Hannay, who doggedly maintains a stereotypical male opinion of the role of women. This does not work, simply because it jars with the old-fashioned feel of the story, not to mention that it is never-ending and we are constantly bludgeoned with it. By the time the bickering becomes playful banter we simply no longer care.

This is a middling version, efficiently made and acted, of a story that is best viewed in context and is probably best served now via the Alfred Hitchcock film.



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