Black narcissus
BBC1, last night
For rent, a spacious vacation left with spectacular views, not suitable for vertigo sufferers. Pets are welcome (no responsibility for pet accidents). Guests are advised to always cover a mirror.
Not surprisingly, His Excellency the General is having difficulty finding tenants for his Himalayan palace in Black Narcissus (BBC1). Bang open shutters and slam doors. Cats fall dead. The caretaker puts out bowls of milk for the ghost of the occupant and the building comes with a zombified yogic saint.
Sister Ambodious Clodagh is determined not to pay attention to all this fol-de-rol, as she and her four nuns founded a Christian mission school, called St. Faith.
The Sister Superior is played by Bond Girl Gemma Arterton, who forgot the Strawberry Fields in the Quantum Of Solace (she might have wished this fact hadn’t always been revealed but of course i like Strawberry Fields forever).
Sister Ambodious Clodagh is determined not to pay any attention to this fol-de-rol, as she and her four nuns founded a Christian mission school, called St Faith
Mopu Palace on the border of India with Nepal was once home to the local maharajah concubines. In 1914, her deranged daughter threw herself from the bell tower into the gorge, and now, 20 years later, her ghost is stalking the corridors, appearing in a mirror as a sort of rear vampire.
‘Truth be told,’ murders the General (Kulvinder Ghir), ‘I have never enjoyed this palace. ‘
Unscrupulous Clodagh refuses to be drawn in by this, and when the Ruth (Dream Franciosi) starter starts courting about seeing the dead, she takes a firm smack around the wimple.
But even Clodagh can’t be indifferent to Mr. Dean’s devil’s charm, played by Alessandro Nivola. Mr Dean is courting the nuns, cigarettes clamped between his lips like sexy Andy Capp. Ruth gets weak at the knees every time he looks her way.
The Sister Superior also finds himself fantasizing about cycling through sunny meadows and dipping skins in lakes, and I don’t think we need Dr. Freud to tell us what that’s all about.
If you haven’t seen the 1947 Oscar-winning film by Deborah Kerr, this adaptation of Rumer Godden’s novel feels original and amazing – a mix of a horrible accusation of a psychological horror film and Call The Midwife. In one scene the women are teaching local rapscallions, in the next scene they have hot streams over the decaying harem wall paintings.
And they are all drawn to the stone staircase that beams, without balustrade, to the side of the palace above a steep cliff. This is the only method of the bell tower and nuns have to ring a bell regularly. You would think that Mr Dean could at least arrange a wooden railway.
The strangely named Black Narcissus continues tonight and ends tomorrow. It’s easily the best thing that has ever happened over Christmas. Even if you don’t like ghost stories, the beautiful scenery is well worth a look. Situated in part in Nepal, the backs of mountains are so large that they seem too large for the skies.
Jim Broadbent also has a cameo, playing a priest skinning fever to get out of the job
He also features the late Goddess Diana Rigg in her last TV role, punching Sister Clodagh’s cute scene, before sending her off to a frozen north, announcing that none of the idea that she is up to the job.
Jim Broadbent also has a cameo, playing a priest skinning fever to get out of the post.
Walking parts for aging telly titans can make a bad outcome worse: Orson Welles used to do a lot of them, his presence revealing that the budget was spent before filming began namely.
But the appearance of these two stars was well judged in the opening scenes, giving us confidence that this unusual story was the basis for high standards and attention to detail.
Rosie Cavaliero, Karen Bryson and Patsy Ferran are other missionaries, severely wounded in their rough cotton practices. When they lay down to spend their first night on the floor of the stone palace, their heads and bodies were tied in white cloth and looked like the bodies of medieval plagues.
Despite the strength of the team around her, it is Miss Arterton ‘s job to carry the drama. Sister Clodagh’s self-confidence has been overshadowed by the Superior Mother’s prediction that she is too self-centered and too ignorant to deal with.
The slightest threat to her authority leaves her trembling with anger. Even the failure of the indoor toilet flush is taken as a personal matter. So as Mr. Dean walks around the muddy courtyard, whistling humbly and rekindling key feelings she thought were buried, the poor woman is about to be turned around.
All the locals exchange leers. This place was known as the Women’s House, and its walls have lacked a license. Ankle-length suits and wooden crosses are no protection against that.
The Women’s House would make a better title than Black Narcissus. For that reason, so would the Phantom of the Convention, the Death of the General’s sister – or, if you wanted to go full of Mills & Boon, what about Heights of Forbidden Passion?
But forget the name. Everything else about this is wonderful.