The Crimson Petal and the White (2011)

This was a brand spanking new drama from the BBC which I spotted being slotted discreetly onto BBC2 rather than 1, this is usually a sign that it is something new, different, and may be a bit risqué! The plot was taken from Michael Faber’s book of the same title released back in 2002, so relatively new, which threw me as from the Victorian setting I instantly thought that the BBC were doing another classic piece. Which is not to say I was disappointed, love something new as well. What really drew me to this adaptation though was the stellar cast, including Romola Garai (Emma), Chris O’Dowd (IT Crowd), Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen), Shirley Henderson (Bridget Jones and Harry Potter), Richard E.Grant (The Scarlet Pimpernel) all greats from British television but also throw into the mix the international star Gillian Anderson as well. Everything seemed to be pointing towards another great BBC production?!

William Rackham is the rich and unwilling heir to a perfume company, while as his father wishes him to follow in his footsteps William’s heart lies in becoming a writer, neither of which he seems to be good at. Home life is not better for William his delicate wife Agnes has been confined to the house by her doctor due to her emotional outbursts, and has recommended Agnes be sent to an asylum. William can’t bear the thought of this but at the same time knows things can’t continue the way they are now. When at his lowest William seeks comfort with a notorious prostitute named Sugar, but one night of pleasure is to turn into a long and passionate affair. Sugar is young, beautiful, intelligent, and outgoing. Under her influence William becomes a more confident and hard-working person, and Sugar reaps the reward using William’s wealth and power to drag herself up out of the filth of lower London. Once in her new life of comfort, wealth, and power Sugar begins to explore how she may change other people’s lives for the better too, but she must be careful many still believe she should know her place, including the man who made it all happen William.

On watching the first episode of this I felt it was interesting but I just felt it was a bit too seedy and dark for me, however we shouldn’t kid ourselves that Victorian London wasn’t like that. Once I started watching the second episode though I was hooked and sat through the remaining episodes in one sitting! What I loved most was the character of Sugar, portrayed by Romola Garai, and didn’t she do a good job. Apart from the obvious fact that she is beautiful Sugar/Romola was also witty, intelligent, and pretty savvy to boot. Chris O’Dowd also pulled out a very convincing performance as William Rackham it was really nice to see him in a more serious role. But the character of William was nowhere near as good as Sugar, William had his great moments but Sugar was behind them all, underneath it all William is a very selfish and needy character whom I didn’t much like.

As well as praising the actors (although I can’t how good they all were really) I must also praise the BBC for another creative, tasteful, and solid drama. The costumes were astonishing, and the sets were even more amazing, how they ever found enough untouched Victorian streets….or may be it was all a very elaborate set. Either way I felt completely immersed into the world of Victorian London, both the filthy life of lower forgotten classes and the  elegant life of the upper classes.

I highly recommend The Crimson Petal and the White to all of you who love a good gritty drama. I haven’t read the book so I comment on if it was a great adaptation really. Did you see this too, if so what did you think? May be you’ve read the book and could let us know if it was a good adaptation?

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