Adapted from the excellent Daphne du Maurier novel of the same name, Jamaica Inn follows the trials of Mary Yellan (Jessica Brown Findlay) who travels to the inn on Bodmin Moor after the sudden death of her mother. She is taken in by her aunt, Patience (Joanne Whalley) and uncle, the imposing Joss Merlyn (Sean Harris) and is swept up in their schemes. She becomes determined to resist all that goes on at the inn, including the charm of Jem Merlyn (Matthew McNulty), Joss’ younger brother, a horse thief and a bit of a cad. As with any adaptation, changes to the original text have been made, but largely for the benefit of the story and the characters. One such welcome change is the expansion of Aunt Patience’s role. Little more than a damsel in the novel, here Patience has been written as a multi-dimensional figure. Her lies spring from a desire to remain positive in the face of criminality and daily drudgery and she serves as a warning to Mary of what she may become if she remains in this life. Whalley’s performance is excellent, combining the vulnerability of a beaten wife with the steeliness of a woman determined to survive. That will to survive is something which Mary has also been given a great deal of, to the point where how to get through the next situation she finds herself in becomes the character’s driving conflict. Jessica Brown Findlay is a solid presence at the heart of this drama, bringing a surly attitude to the character that clashes well with the strong masculine environment in which she finds herself. It threatens to become a little one-note before the episode’s end, however, but with relationships developing with Patience and Jem in particular, it looks likely that Brown Findlay will have more to work with in the coming episodes. Her initial meeting with her uncle Joss is a clash of wills which leads to her biting his hand in a show of strength. It’s a chilling moment, one which signals that not only is Mary able to go up against her uncle, but also that he will be a constant physical threat to her. Sean Harris is a wonderfully calm, yet menacing presence, a contrast to the blustering Joss of the novel. Here, the danger he represents is largely unseen until the end of the episode. The hanging was very well-constructed, using Mary’s perspective to leave the horror of the situation to the imaginations of the audience. Even here, Joss was remarkably calm, but Harris’ taut performance throughout suggested a man quick to violence when pushed. This sense of isolation is well matched by Phillippa Lowthorpe’s direction, which captures the unsettling atmosphere of the novel instantly, utilising the Cornwall, Yorkshire and Cumbrian filming locations to create a harsh, threatening landscape into which Mary has been thrust. The shots of Mary on the moors, isolated and at the mercy of the world around her combine well with the claustrophobic scenes within Jamaica Inn itself. With its strong cast and a swiftly established mystery at its heart, Jamaica Inn is off to an intriguing start, willing to revel in the darker aspects of du Maurier’s novel and bring the beautiful, threatening landscape to life. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
