Wrestling J.K. Rowling’s 500-page book into a three-hour miniseries flummoxes “The Casual Vacancy,” a project made with considerable ambition and lyricism, yet which feels scattered and unfocused. Rowling’s deviation from wizard-lit clearly had plenty on its mind, including class distinctions and social justice, but the screen version skims too lightly over an abundance of characters, generally painting the adults as cartoonish or buffoonish, and reserving what little depth and sympathy exists for the teens. Having partnered with the BBC again, HBO likely has the equivalent of a promotable bargain, but there’s otherwise marginal incentive to check into this “Vacancy.”
Rowling apparently gave writer Sarah Phelps and director Jonny Campbell considerable latitude to craft the story in a manner they saw fit, and they have largely settled on the tale of a perpetually angry teenage girl, Krystal (newcomer Abigail Lawrie), trying to look after a little brother and...
Rowling apparently gave writer Sarah Phelps and director Jonny Campbell considerable latitude to craft the story in a manner they saw fit, and they have largely settled on the tale of a perpetually angry teenage girl, Krystal (newcomer Abigail Lawrie), trying to look after a little brother and...
- 4/28/2015
- by Brian Lowry
- Variety - TV News
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