Simply A Masterpiece

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

This was frustrating. I've read a few of Phil Rickman's books, including a couple of the Merrily Watkins stories so I was predisposed to like this ITV version.There were lots of good things (creepy atmos,scary looking spirit, David Threlfall) but for me these were all outweighed by just how pathetic the lead character was. Don't get me wrong - I'm all for having a flawed lead character but there's a fine line between 'flawed' and 'utterly useless' and Anna Maxwell Martin's inappropriately named Merrily lands the wrong side of that line. Rubbish as a mother, evidently a poor wife, an unconvincing clergy, pill-popping, fag-smoking, heavy drinking car crash of a character, she blunders through each episode making a mess of every situation she finds herself in.I'm not suggesting she should be an ecclesiastical Jack Reacher but I just can't stay interested in a character with so few redeeming features. Shame.

Good supernatural drama (best seen before you read the book, or watched objectively). My only issue? Thank heavens for subtitles! I only have partial hearing and found some of the softer spoken actors impossible to hear without them. David Threlfall as Huw Owen absolutely owned the role he played. I sincerely hope there will be future adaptations of Phil Rickman's books, but with more episodes, as three hours wasn't long enough to do them full justice. 6 or 8 episodes would have been better. I look forward to watching without advert breaks. The locations used for filming were beautiful and atmospheric and the characters mostly well cast.

*****SPOILER FREE***** About time, these books have been around years and been waiting for TV to take them up. It raised an eyebrow when I heard ITV were making them, the nature of material I'd have thought would have meant only Channel Four would have had the b***s to make, but fair play.Three enjoyable episodes, well put together. Anna was good as Merrily, David Threlfall was worthy of more on screen time. One minor fault would be the lack of Gomer Parry, a key relationship in the books.Being ITV, it's no surprise that some of the more gruesome elements were omitted, they could have been darker, although I'm left feeling there's potential with this series. A Christmas transmission would have been good, MR James has left a gaping hole.Some of the books are darker then others, I'll wait with baited breath to see if Crown of Light is the next one they make.Apparitions sank a few years ago, similar material. I hope isn't the one and only outing for Merrily. Time will tell.>>>>>Watch it, and then read the book, not the other way around>>>>>

This new ITV drama is set in rural Herefordshire where vicar Merrily Watkins has recently been made a deliverance minister; better known as an exorcist. She hasn't been in the post for long when the police as for her opinions when a man is found crucified in woodland; she is understandably shocked but doesn't see how she can help. Later she is asked to attend a dying man in the hospital; the nurses are afraid to go near him and as he dies Merrily senses an evil presence as he grips her hand so hard that he draws blood. After this she has a feeling of his presence and starts to believe that she is out of her depth. If this wasn't enough her daughter is becoming more and more estranged after meeting another, slightly older, girl who turns out to be the dead man's daughter. If she is to save her daughter and ultimately the local cathedral she, and her mentor Huw Owen will have to find the connection between current events and events that happened there in the Middle Ages.Not having read any of the books on which this series was based, I can't say how true this was to the original works but as a stand-alone TV series I found it rather enjoyable. There is a good creepy atmosphere throughout and the cast do a solid job. Anna Maxwell Martin is very good as Merrily; nicely depicting somebody who knows they are out of their depth and rabidly losing control of the things that matter most to her. David Threlfall is equally good as Huw. The story progresses at a decent pace and ultimately reaches a gripping conclusion that both wrapped up the story and left certain details open enough for further series if ITV want to make more. Overall an effective and atmospheric chiller that made a nice change from more conventional mysteries.