Pursuit
dir. Brian Skiba (2022)
Pursuit plays out as if the four screenwriters divvied up the characters and wrote each part in isolation. None of the motivations make sense. Nothing ties together. Elevator pitch: “Gratuitous fridging leads to good/bad people turning up randomly and killing each other.”
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
dir. Bill Duke (A&E Networks, 2000)
The feature-length film that spawned the TV series. All the elements are present in this first outing, albeit Maury Chaykin’s embodiment of Wolfe is comparatively understated. Saul Rubinek, relegated to cameos in later instalments, makes the most of his extra screen time.
Spy x Family, Vol. 1
by Tatsuya Endo (Shonen Jump/SHUEISHA Inc, 2019)
English Version trans. Casey Loe (VIZ Media, 2019)
The premise is instantly appealing and Endo manages to maintain clarity while combining brief, almost impressionist action sequences with multi-viewpoint panels featuring both inner dialogue and speech. The medium (manga: small pages, black-and-white) is intrinsically limiting, but this is a promising start.
Dragon Blade
dir. Daniel Lee (2015)
Historical epic fail. Lots of fighting. Adrien Brody is half-decent but Lee’s script is nothing but flung sand and big emotional scenes that haven’t been earned and don’t hit home. Jackie Chan and John Cusack do their best in the quiet moments.
The Frozen Ground
dir. Scott Walker (2013)
A real-life ordeal turned equally bleak film, more dirge than thriller. John Cusack makes for a credible serial killer but isn’t given room to be truly unsettling. Nicholas Cage walks his usual line between subtlety and woodenness. Vanessa Hudgens outshines them both.
Nero Wolfe, Series 2
(A&E, 2002)
Hutton and Chaykin really hit their straps in Series 2, mystery taking a back seat to larger-than-life personalities. Again, one-off characters are played by a repertory cast, the presence of which, once the viewer acclimatises, affords a further theatrical overlay to proceedings.
The Cliff, Series 2: Depth of Darkness
(2014)
aka ‘The Lava Field’ / ‘Hraunið’ [subtitles]
![TV poster: “The Cliff, Series 2: Depth of Darkness” (2014) {aka ‘The Lava Field’ / ‘Hraunið’} [subtitles]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Cliff-2_Lava-Field.png)
A second four-episode miniseries featuring Björn Hlynur Haraldsson as Icelandic police detective Helgi Marvin. The murder investigation is again languid, a small-scale affair set against bleak backdrops and repressed trauma. The pace and tension do ramp up, but to a muddled conclusion.
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life
by Anna Funder (Knopf, 2023)
audiobook read by Jane Slavin & Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood (Bolinda, 2023)
The reconstructed biography of Eileen O’Shaughnessy, a remarkable woman whom the patriarchal gatekeepers, when not omitting her altogether, render anonymous as merely George Orwell’s wife. Funder confronts the historical record to wrest Eileen’s due back from oblivion. Orwell himself emerges greatly diminished.
The Long Call, Series 1
(ITV, 2021)
Another murder mystery (mini)series that is bigger on setting and personal issues than investigation. A step back from the in-your-face (over-scored) probing of religious insularism and anti-gay prejudice, Pearl Mackie provides nuanced support as DS Rafferty, a single mother of two teenagers.
Witch for Hire
by Ted Naifeh (Amulet, 2021)
While Faye Faulkner’s witch magic is alluring, Naifeh pulls no punches and allows very little catharsis in this exploration of high-school bullying and teen insecurity. The illustrations match the subject matter, bruised and murky in dark shades of green, yellow and orange.