The Luminaries

Those of us with NZTV "On Demand" have been able to binge The Luminaries.

Yes, I have read the book. When I have read the original work, I believe in taking care not to be overly critical of film, or in this case, mini-series, adaptions, as that is a difficult process. That said, I found this adaption simply awful even in that forgiving context.

The best aspect of the novel, is a technical one: a somewhat fresh structure within the otherwise standard and well trod genre of romance novel, or combined romance+crime-drama novel. Ingenious? No. Fresh? Yes. Specifically the central 12 astrological symbol based men whose aspects are the core part of the story telling mechanism of the novel.

Sadly the mini-series adaption keeps the overly worn romance/crime drama tropes, and there are just an endless stream of them, and completely glosses over the clever technical aspects of the original work. In the end what we have is a standard soap opera. It is profoundly dumbed down to the point of being an insult to the audience; who the makers and adapters must think are generally idiots. It is not as if some of the complexity, nuance, are gone -- they all are gone.

The acting, cinematography and certainly the art direction, are above average. But the narrative structure is for the simple minded, with all the inventiveness it seems carefully removed. The dialogue is has had every element of irony, subtlety removed. The most interesting book characters are turned into shallow two dimensional cut-outs. One character, who in the novel is a essentially a catalyzing impetus, bizarrely becomes the lead character in the adaption,. Yet she is given no compelling, or interesting story. Also the novel refreshingly did not moralize in a heavy handed way. The bigotry for example are presented matter of fact, which is effective. Yet the adaption is patently moralizing, and hamfisted at it as well. It is just a cheap shot to be saying -- "look at this! 1860's era New Zealand setters had bigoted views!" Really? Who on the globe did not at that time."

In the end this is a hollow and superficial viewing experience. We are not in the 1970s or 1980's television era, but in the golden age of series and limited series work. The age of Fargo, True Detective, Chernobyl, Rome, Boardwalk Empire, House of Cards, and a litany of smart and very well written work.

Sadly, "The Luminaries" mini-series adaption, specifically the plot and screen writing, takes us back to the junk age of television.

The Daily Mail gave this series a bad review for being difficult to understand and The Guardian gave it a good review, that told me all I needed to know about whether I was likely to enjoy it or not and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

I didn't find the story hard to follow at all, it jumps between time but it's not difficult to keep up with. Visually it's stunning and the story is interesting and unique, I thoroughly enjoyed this series and am considering reading the book.

The novel on which this series is based is sophisticated and the plot is complex. It is original and mature writing (it won the prestigious Man Booker Prize) but it's definitely not easy reading. Given this, it's asking too much to expect mere entertainment from a TV adaptation. The story is too complex to be reduced to the level of simplicity that many people want and expect. The novel demands active involvement for it to be rewarding; the TV version likewise. It's near-impossible to reduce a nearly 1,000 page novel to six hours of television. If this sounds like justification for the TV version's complexity, that's exactly what I'm trying to do. It's certainly isn't easy going, but it is rewarding if you're prepared to provide input yourself - just like the novel.

I have just finished watching the entire 6 part series. Yes the plot in the way it is presented is complex. We are presented with events and then history leading up to that event, more events and the histories leading up to those events, and so on. This makes for a complexity that requires some attention, although many hints are always on screen to tell us where in time each scene is located, past, recent past, and present. The complexity is a positive, but a casual viewer with the show on in the background with sparse attention paid to it will find it hard to follow the twists - you need to actually watch it.

It took me until the 3rd episode (first two with mild attention wandering) before I became absorbed, will probably watch again in a couple of weeks with fresh eyes.

Clever, a slow burn, this show is a bit of a gem. I would summarise it thus: Gold, greed, gowns (will make sense when watched), love, murder, mystery, mystique and revenge. A healthy dose of good viewing. I was sorry but also sated when it ended.

Many of the reviews here state that the plot is hard to follow. I haven't read the book but from what I understand it requires the reader to be engaged and pay attention. This series requires the same. If you do pay attention to the smaller details, the time jumps isn't hard to follow at all. Actually, it really helps building up the mystery.

I absolutely loved the series and Eva Greens performance is truly amazing!