I shall never forget the massive WHOOOOT! I let out when I saw this advertised on TV for the first time one Sunday evening. I think I even shushed The Beard in rather a rude fashion so that I could give it my full attention.
It was the WW1 snippets of said advert that had grabbed my eye. I had to know what it was.
Once I knew it was a BBC adaptation of Birdsong, I realised I had to read it before it aired. Why I set myself these challenges is beyond me, but I did it in under 10 days - which is a record for me - and reviewed it here
I sat down and waited, with baited breath....
First off, it was beautifully shot. The costume was stunning and the locations vibrant and realistic. It was all pretty much as I had imagined it to be when I read the novel.
I already knew that I would not be bothered by the love story. I know some of you adored it, but I could not stomach it in the novel - and on screen was no different. In fact, I found it more annoying, because any suspense from the novel was swallowed up on screen by longing looks and tinkly piano music.
It was the Great War parts of the adaptation, which I had fallen in love with in the book, that I wanted to see portrayed on screen. And for me they didn't disappoint. I think a lot of effort was put into the script to make it as true to the book as possible - but invariably, there were parts that failed to translate.
Sadly they were the parts of the novel that make a connection to the reader. So - the important bits.
Like character development - and the way in which a relationship grows. I was gripped in the book by the turn of events that cemented Wraysford and Firebrace as friends. For me, pretty much all of this was either omitted from the script - or not given enough time for the viewer to grasp.
I felt it was the same with the flash back moments. I do not feel that enough attention to the fact the protagonist was now in the middle of a war in the very same countryside in which he fell in love was conveyed at all. For me, this was one of the most poignant parts of the whole novel. Just like his relationship with Isabelle, so to has the landscape been mangled and destroyed.
This could have been easily solved by, oh, I dunno, a quick word "Ameins" on the screen - so the viewer could realise where he was and how it had changed.
I tried to watch this with an open mind, and not compare it to book too much, which I found a little impossible. So - I had to enlist the help of The Beard and ask for his opinion, so I can judge this properly.
He felt that it was slow and failed to really hold him. He began to care a little about the characters - but it didn't move him all that much. He also bored of the mumbling. And the simpering looks. And I would have to agree. I tried to weigh up how much of my feelings about it were being swayed by the fact that I knew the story, which left me frowning.
I think that, had this been made in three 90 minute shows, then a lot more of the book could have been scripted. Especially the 1970's parts, which for me, make it all the more relative to today for people looking back and wanting to know more.
I worry that such a mixed portrayal could turn people off of wanting to read the novel at all - and potentially learning anything more about the Great War it's self. Which, for those of you that know me, makes me twitch a little and reach for my soap-box.
But. But, but, but. I could be very wrong on that score. And I hope I am.
Please, tell me what you thought of it? I would love to know...
So, the score?
5/10
*sad face*
(all images from courtesy of BBC)