Labyrinth
Labyrinth is an adaptation of the 2005 historical mystery novel by Kate Mosse. Though I have not read the book myself, I was intruiged by the trailer or this miniseries and the presence of many actors from productions I've recently enjoyed: Jessica Brown-Findlay (Downton Abbey), Vanessa Kirby (Great Expectations), Emun Elliot (The Paradise) and Sebastian Stan (Once Upon a Time).
Labyrinth tells the story of two women, modern day Alice Tanner (Kirby) and 13th century Alaïs Pelletier du Mas (Brown-Findlay). Alice, recovering from a nasty break-up, is doing volunteer archaeological work in the South of France, when she finds a cave with some rare artifacts, which sets in motion more then she bargained for. Alaïs is entrusted by her father with a great secret, while a force of crusaders lies siege to their city of Carcassonne, a stronghold of the Cathar sect. The stories of these two women, over 800 years apart, are inexplicably linked.
Labyrinth was written at the height of the popularity of historical mystery novels in the years after The Da Vinci Code. Though I've read and enjoyed The Da Vinci Code and some other books by Dan Brown, this genre has never become one of my favourites. Labyrinth is sometimes described as 'the women's Da Vinci code' and it is indeed true and refreshing that both the heroines and main villains in present and past are female. In short Labyrinth has all the ingredients to be a gripping miniseries: a host of young and talented actors, an interesting, unexplored historical background and a pretty setting. Yet it disappointed me in no small way.
The acting in general was fine. Jessica Brown-Findlay and Katie McGrath (Merlin, BBC) seemed somewhat typecast as the wise and gentle versus the evil sister, but both acted convincingly. The real talents I personally found to be Vanessa Kirby as Alice Tanner, almost unrecognizable from her role in Great Expectations with her blond hair and modern clothes and the - to me unknown- Tom Felton as the young leader of Carcassonne Viscount Trencavel. Vanessa Kirby was very good as the confused but inquisitive modern day heroine of the story and Tom Felton impressed as brave leader of the besieged Carcassonne residents. The young cast was assisted by some eminent older actors, such as John Hurt and John Lynch.
The setting for the story was pretty, with both the 13th century and the modern day story taking place against the backdrop of the sunny hills of South France and the city of Carcassonne. The battles and city life of the 13th century part of the story were convincing and well-shot. The historical background of the story remained rather vague, hardly any information was given as to the Cathar people, what they believed and why Carcassonne was their stronghold. The main plotpoint, the Holy Grail linking the Medieval and present day story, was not very well elaborated upon and the end of the story left me totally scratching my head. I'll not spoil it for those who still want to see Labyrinth, but it could all end thát simple? What had all the fuss, the violence and the bloodshed been about in that case? What is the whole póint of this story?
Because that's another thing, there is a lot of violence in this mini series. And yes, I know, the Middle Ages and the Crusades were a violent period and it is important to the story, but there were some rather gruesome scenes of close-up violence, which I could have done without. There is such a thing as suggestion. Labyrinth also contained some rather graphic sex scenes, which I thought were unnecessary.
As I have not read the novel myself, I cannot say how close this adaptation was to the source material, but for me, the production left me dissatisfied. I would only recommend this to people who either really liked the book or the genre of Labyrinth or who want to follow closely all the work of one of the interesting actors. If not, there are much better period dramas to while away three hours with.