his four-episode BBC miniseries adapts the first two books of Mervyn Peake's classic trilogy of Gormenghast, a sprawling castle the size of a small city. Gormenghast is shot through with secret passages and moldy, forgotten wings. It is encrusted with 77 generations of precedent and long-desiccated ritual. The sheer inertia of the place and its traditions has overwhelmed everyone within it. Even the ruling Groan family have become little more than overdressed cogs in the great, wheezing machine that is Gormenghast itself.
But soon after the birth of Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Gormenghast, things begin to go horribly wrong in the great castle, all driven by the young kitchen boy, Steerpike (Myers). Unlike everyone else in Gormenghast, Steerpike refuses to accept the position handed to him by tradition and circumstance. Steerpike is clever. Steerpike is charming. Steerpike is utterly ruthless. Steerpike refuses to waste his life in the kitchens when these qualities could take him so much farther.
And so Steerpike simply steps outside his role. First he escapes from the kitchens, domain of the brutal, corpulent head cook, Swelter (Richard Griffiths), and charms his way into the home of Dr. Prunesquallor (Sessions). Being Prunesquallor's assistant not only gives him access to several interesting poisons, but also introduces him to Gormenghast's elite, and soon Steerpike is again clawing his way up the social hierarchy.
He makes enemies along the way, notably Mr. Flay (Lee), Lord Groan's monosyllabic servant. But his refusal to play by the rules that ensnare everyone else keeps him one step ahead. Through audacity, deception, toadying and murder, Steerpike ascends steadily toward the top. By the time young Titus reaches the brink of adulthood, his family has been largely decimated. Steerpike has clawed his way up the ladder to become Secretary, the interpreter of the great book that tells what must be done, when and by whom. This makes him arguably the most powerful person in Gormenghast, and he is ready to stand against Titus himself for ultimate control of the castle and the destiny of its inhabitants.
An admirable adaptation
The Gormenghast books stand alongside classics like Dune and Lord of the Rings as widely loved, complex fantasies that long resisted film translation until being given space to develop their sprawling stories. No film version can ever perfectly reproduce the experience of a novel (something Dune and Lord of the Rings fans should keep in mind), but this four-hour production is impressive in its own right.
Confronted with a British science fiction or fantasy production, American viewers typically expect cardboard sets and cheesy effects, which the filmmakers compensate for as best they can with the strengths of England's theatrical tradition: acting and costuming. True enough, Gormenghast is packed with wonderful performances and gloriously elaborate costumes. But its sets and exteriors also show that effects have come a long way since Dr. Who. They're not entirely realistic, but this actually meshes well with the stylized characterizations. Gormenghast shouldn't come off as real, but as a sort of feverish hallucination, and this Gormenghast nails it.
Fans will notice a greater emphasis on Peake's droll humor here. That's certainly part of the books, but it's diluted by Peake's languid prose. Replacing descriptions with actual images tends to distill the comic elements, and this production ends up funnier than the books. But, largely thanks to excellent performances—particularly by Myers, Lee and Neve McIntosh as Lady Fuschia—the story still works.
The biggest problem with Gormenghast comes toward the end, as the limitations of even a four-hour length begin to show. The last episode feels terribly rushed. Partially explored subplots are suddenly resolved without making it clear why they were important in the first place. And Titus, rather a thankless role compared to Steerpike, comes off badly in this version as well. An infant for the first two episodes, then played by different actors in the last two, his character never really gels. When he's suddenly thrust into the role of hero, it doesn't fit him.
The miniseries is presented on DVD as a two-disc set, with three episodes on the first disc and the fourth episode plus extras on the second. Highlights from the extras include numerous slides of the lush costumes and set designs, as well as behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast and crew.
Overall, Gormenghast survives serious cutting and some odd deviations from the books to present a rich world worthy of exploration.
