Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Samantha Morton, Rupert Graves, Ruby Stokes, David Dawson, Paul Bradley, Jack Roth, Charlie Hamblett, John Macmillan, Jane Lapotaire, Beth Cordingly, Elodie Grace Orkin, Conrad Khan, Janie Dee, Safia Oakley-Green, Paul Fox, Charlie Price, Erin Ainsworth, Catherine Harvey, Liam Hatch.
The sins of our ancestors are always prevalent, and whilst we may be in part innocent of such crimes ourselves, we cannot remove the stain of the family name passed down when it comes to certain transgressions, certain wrongs in which we can be seen to have profited from personally.
The archetypical English village not only can be seen to have built at times on secrets but often on the back of legend and occasionally a shocking disclosure, and perhaps it should be seen as a microcosm of the country itself, one of a large village mindset that is happy to comply with local regulations and be willing to sweep under the carpet that which bothers them, to not investigate further the missing, and the dead.
The Burning Girls by Salisbury born author C.J. Tudor receives its dues as it is brought to the small screen via one of the streaming services willing to place money into producing a British series that has chills and revelations deep within its spiritual heart.
The sense of foreboding and reveal is one that The Burning Girls was made to impress, the cinematography is illuminating, the generous nature afforded the cast in terms of the crafted dialogue brings out the best in some of Britain’s most endearing actors, and as Samantha Morton in the lead role of transplanted vicar Jack Brooks proves once more that her pedigree is one of absolute truth, that she can turn her emotion on a sixpence, and is rightly considered one of the finest of her generation. When you add her performance to that of the towering Rupert Graves, Ruby Stokes, David Dawson, the delightful Paul Bradley, and the sophistication of dramatic ferocity of Jack Roth, it can be seen just how important this particular adaptation can be to the viewer, and to the idea of British thrillers and horror.
Secrets have a way of being unearthed, the tight knit community, when finally confronted with its truth will rebel against the prison it has found itself in, and it always starts with a flicker of flame, a revolution willing to eradicate the façade, and as Jack Brooks’ new life in the village is one of memory and deceit, of lies told to her, so the drama unfolds and the murders from a distant past are finally brought out into the open.
It is in this revelation that The Burning Girls excels, its creepy dominion over the viewer is akin to that felt by those who see The Wicker Man with the same sense of urgency and local fear.
A fantastic adaption of a great novel, one that has been crying out for from a genre often neglected by television and film alike.
Ian D. Hall