Bob Taylor
My copy of the novel runs to 500 pages, and I feel it could have benefited by some severe editing. The miniseries runs to about 5 hours, and that's a lot of exposition and some unnecessary characters: the second killing of the power plant employee is set up so elaborately you want to say Get on with it! I'd like to give it a higher rating' because some of the acting is really superb, particularly Gemma Jones as the sister of the plant director, and Nicola Cowper as a reluctant activist in the protest against environmental hazards, but the tempo does drag at times.For those who worry about Roy Marsden's quiet acting style, I'd like to remind them that Dalgleish is a poet who drives a sports car, thus he's at the antipodes of standard detective heroes (George Gently comes to mind). He does get the job done though, and that's all that counts.
Terrell-4
What to make of this mystery from the BBC that runs on (and on) for more than 300 minutes? In that time we have a terrorist plot against a nuclear facility on the coast of Norfolk; a serial killer called the Norfolk Whistler; a brother and sister relationship that is loyal to the point of, well, we won't go there; it's all our own nasty thinking anyway; a protest by a young activist against the nuclear plant because birds might be displaced; a copycat slaying that mimics the modus of the Whistler; and so much exposition the killer could die of old age before he'd be caught. There's also hanky panky in the grass, blackmail, government interference, family anger, unbridled ambition, all kinds of major relationship problems, wise old geezers and several glimpses of the uncovered breasts of female corpses. British necrophiliacs must be a big part of the BBC's audience. In the middle is Commander Adam Dalgliesh (Roy Marsden), stern, moralistic and, in this story, nearly as passive as a muffin. He's taking a bit of time off from his job with the Metropolitan Police Service at New Scotland Yard. He's finished a new book of poetry and has come to stay in a converted lighthouse that he has inherited. Since he's on vacation and not the copper in charge of investigating the Whistler murders, he busies himself taking long walks, stumbling across corpses and meeting people. These include the attractive Meg Dennison (Susan George); the head of the nuclear plant, Dr. Alex Mair (James Faulkner); and Mair's sister, Alice (Gemma Jones). All are exceedingly well mannered, even when they're distraught. Dalgliesh knows the chief inspector in charge of the Whistler case, Terry Rickards (Tony Haygarth), who once worked for him. Naturally, Rickards is happy to have Dalgliesh accompany him on his visits to the corpses that keep turning up. For the length of the program Dalgliesh quietly asks questions that seem to be designed to make others think of options, while never committing himself. The Whistler is eventually found and the copycat killer identified and dealt with, but Dalgliesh could just as well have been off on a walking tour in Wales for all that the story depends on him. In the other televised mysteries of P. D. James' Dalgliesh books, we have a man who is perhaps difficult to warm up to. He often seems to be evaluating people against his own standards and finding them wanting. Dalgliesh, when it gets down to murder, believes in moral absolutes, and says so. He also seems to prefer a nice hot cup of tea to a pint of ale. I can imagine what Morse would make of him. Dalgliesh, however, is redeemed because he deals with complex and often clever murders. He's calm, he's smart and he's relentless in going after a killer. With Devices and Desires, almost none of that is present. Dalgliesh is just an observer, as we are...even less of one, because we observe, which he doesn't, all the rationalizing, misunderstandings, avarice and impassioned do-gooding of the other characters. The creative team behind this adaptation forgot some basic rules of storytelling for television and the movies: Even if you have five hours to fill, be concise, keep exposition to the bare minimum, concentrate the themes and don't let your protagonist become dull. The crowning frustration is that Dalgliesh doesn't even solve anything. On the plus side is the recollection of how good Roy Marsden can be as Dalgliesh when he's given murders to solve. Susan George does fine as a woman who just might or might not develop a relationship with the Commander. And more than anything else is the sterling performance of Gemma Jones. The character she plays is quiet, assured and complex, and is the most interesting in the story. Jones herself, simply because of her skill and empathy as an actress, in my view dominates the story every time she's on screen. To see Gemma Jones in full display of her powers, just watch her as Louisa Trotter in The Duchess of Duke Street - The Complete Collection. That's a production that makes 26 hours seem to flash by far more quickly than the five hours of Devices and Desires. But don't give up on Dalgliesh. There are DVD releases of nine other mysteries with Marsden in the role and two with Martin Shaw as the Commander. And if you want to really enjoy a mystery where the detective isn't directly involved, read The Daughter of Time. That great mystery writer Josephine Tey puts Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant in hospital, immobile and bored to death. He comes across an illustration of the painting of Richard the Third that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. (It's the same one on my Amazon Profile Page.) Grant is intrigued by the disparity between Richard's gory reputation and the image of this thoughtful, rather sad-looking man. He decides to look into the deaths of the two princes in the Tower as a way to kill time. He winds up solving the case.
jeffhanna3
Couldn't disagree more with the sour reviewer who found this masterpiece and Roy Marsden to be disappointing. One wonders what this person's idea of a great mystery and detective is??As a huge fan of Marsden (the PERFECT Dalgleish) and the P.D. James mysteries starring him, "Devices and Desires" is by far my favorite. I cannot believe that it is the only one which is not available on DVD. (Update: it is now available on DVD).Everything about this production is excellent. What a cast! Full of fascinating twists, turns and bizarre subplots - not to mention a series of very creepy murders, this one is a winner. Available on VHS at many libraries.
