I was 12 when Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the movie, was announced. It was the year 2001, and only four of the seven books in the series had been published — all four of which I had read, re-read and loved, much before there were talks of taking the novel to the big screen. There were only a few friends in school who had read the series, and once we got tired of discussing the books, we would stalk fan websites to get our fill of anything and everything related to Harry Potter. When the films were announced, I faithfully followed the hype, developed a rather premature crush on Daniel Radcliffe and watched the film within a week of its release.
In the following few weeks at school, it seemed like everyone knew about Harry Potter; the characters weren’t exclusive to the few of us anymore. That is when I developed a condescension then towards the “haven’t read the book but I’ve watched the movie” type of people. This condescension didn’t last too long though — I am now one of them.
Any literature, when adapted well for the screen, is a joy to watch for those who are already familiar with the story, but even more so for those who aren’t. Hilary Mantel’s award-winning
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The entire series of events, as well as what happens next, is narrated through the life and times of Thomas Cromwell, the Cardinal’s lawyer and right hand man. Cromwell is the son of a blacksmith, a “nobody”, as he is referred to in the series, who works his way up the ranks to become the King’s confidante and an important political figure.
The casting in the series has been exceptional — the show is full of faces you’d recognise if you watch Sherlock, Homeland and even Game of Thrones, such as Mark Gatiss who plays the thoroughly entertaining Stephen Gardiner, Damian Lewis as the conceited yet strangely likeable King Henry, Claire Foy as the haughty and resolute Anne Boleyn, and Jonathan Pryce who does a remarkable job of playing the wounded Cardinal Wolsey. You’d think that it would be impossible to pick an outstanding performance in a cast like this, but Mark Rylance, who plays the politically deft and determined Thomas Cromwell, is in a league of his own.
The way the story ends for Anne in the series is no different from how it ends in history — she is executed on counts of witchcraft and incest, but watching the events unfurl on screen takes your breath away. I do hope that the show’s director, Peter Kosminsky, and writer, Peter Straughan, earn many awards for
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Hilary Mantel is due to release the final book in her trilogy very soon, and I for one, cannot wait to join in on Thomas Cromwell discussions when it does. After all, I may have not read the book, but I have watched the series.