Wolf Hall

The BBC’s six-part adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novels (Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies) drew to a close last night. What a wonderful six hours that was! Mesmeric, with acting of the highest order from all concerned.

If I have one small carp (a tiny goldfish, really), it was that the director’s insistence on shooting night scenes lit only by torchlight and candles, whilst artistically correct, was not well served by the lenses that they used. It’s a pity that they couldn’t have got hold of the lenses used by Kubrick for Barry Lyndon, that might have helped a bit with the gloom.