'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell': Making Magic Come Alive

Ken Tucker
·Critic-at-Large, Yahoo Entertainment
Updated
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Carefully crafted and respectful of its source material, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a tale of old British magic airing on BBC America starting Saturday night. It’s a TV miniseries that based on Susanna Clarke’s 2004 bestselling novel, a thick, swift read that packed so much between its covers, it was difficult to believe a TV adaptation could encompass it. Having seen the first two of its seven parts made available for review, I can say the filmmakers certainly give it a noble try.

“Why is magic no longer done in England?” This is the question that is posed numerous times throughout the beginning of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, usually by a stuffy bunch calling themselves the Society of Magicians. The miniseries imagines a 19th century Britain in which magic has fallen into disuse, and only a few hobbyists and eccentrics practice it. Why isn’t the Society of Magicians out there palming playing cards and sawing women in half? This in itself is baffling.

However, Mr Norrell, played by Eddie Marsan, perhaps best known to cable-TV watchers as one of the brothers on Ray Donovan, is a very active magician, and therefore an oddity sought out by Jonathan Strange (Bertie Carvel), an avid follower of the mystical arts. Clarke’s book takes in huge swaths of British history including various wars and various government officials. The miniseries, adapted by Peter Harness and directed by Toby Haynes, moves along pretty briskly. Unfortunately, some of the special effects, such as the first episode’s look at Morrell making church statues come to life, come off like stunts done on an early-Doctor Who budget.

But the performances are good — Marsan’s pinched, prickly Morrell is particularly effective — and even if you haven’t read Clarke’s book (which in my experience was more fun and just as imaginative as the George R.R. Martin novels upon which Game of Thrones is based), you’ll be able to follow the adventures quite easily.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. on BBC America.