Benjamin Myers’ 2017 novel “The Gallows Pole” told the “true-life tale of the 18th century gang of coin clippers led by ‘King’ David Hartley, whose illegal work and attendant violence came to dominate Cragg Vale in West Yorkshire”, said Lucy Mangan in The Guardian. Now, it’s been turned into a three-part BBC drama directed by Shane Meadows (“This is England”) – and it’s a treat.
We meet David (Michael Socha) as he is returning to his home village after a long absence, with a stab wound in his side and an idea for how to make some money. If you clip a tiny bit of gold from ten coins, he tells his family and friends, you can melt the trimmings and create an 11th coin, thus delaying “starvation, eviction and untimely death”. So “who’s in?” Meadows’ take “keeps all the energy, density and fortitude of the book, but adds the missing humour”. It’s a drama “of rare quality in every sense”.
Meadows’ first proper period drama has his usual rough and ready improvisation (plus some of his favourite actors). But while some people will love it, I was disappointed, said Ben Dowell in The Times. The actors don’t seem “entirely at ease in their dirty tricorn hats and heavy boots”, and the script is full of repetitive “yammering”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
You do wonder if Meadows is that interested in either “the period or the book”, said Benji Wilson in The Daily Telegraph; but the “performances, the humour and just the life that he manages to capture on film are irresistible. This is a gang that, within half-an-hour, you want to join.”
Where to watch: BBC Two/iPlayer
-
Film reviews: 'Wicked: For Good' and 'Rental Family'Feature Glinda the Good is forced to choose sides and an actor takes work filling holes in strangers' lives
-
‘Like a gas chamber’: the air pollution throttling DelhiUnder The Radar Indian capital has tried cloud seeding to address the crisis, which has seen schools closed and outdoor events suspended
-
Political cartoons for November 23Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a Thanksgiving horn of plenty, the naughty list, and more
-
Film reviews: 'Wicked: For Good' and 'Rental Family'
Feature Glinda the Good is forced to choose sides and an actor takes work filling holes in strangers' lives
-
Nick Clegg picks his favourite booksThe Week Recommends The former deputy prime minister shares works by J.M. Coetzee, Marcel Theroux and Conrad Russell
-
Park Avenue: New York family drama with a ‘staggeringly good’ castThe Week Recommends Fiona Shaw and Katherine Waterston have a ‘combative chemistry’ as a mother and daughter at a crossroads
-
Jay Kelly: ‘deeply mischievous’ Hollywood satire starring George ClooneyThe Week Recommends Noah Baumbach’s smartly scripted Hollywood satire is packed with industry in-jokes
-
Motherland: a ‘brilliantly executed’ feminist history of modern RussiaThe Week Recommends Moscow-born journalist Julia Ioffe examines the women of her country over the past century
-
Music reviews: Rosalía and Mavis Staplesfeature “Lux” and “Sad and Beautiful World”
-
Dianarama examines the ‘extraordinary scale’ of Martin Bashir’s liesThe Week Recommends Andy Webb’s book is packed with ‘astonishing’ allegations surrounding Princess Diana’s 1995 Panorama interview
-
6 homes for entertainingFeature Featuring a heated greenhouse in Pennsylvania and a glamorous oasis in California
