My Boy Jack

My Boy Jack was on ITV this evening, Remembrance Sunday. I watched it as I was a) intrigued by the story of Kipling's extremely shortsighted son, who was killed in battle in World War I, aged eighteen, b) interested in seeing if Daniel Radcliffe could act at all, and c) trying out an ITV dramas again, just in case it was any good.
Well, it wasn't. It seems that no young actor today is remotely capable of the received pronunciation that would have been the norm in 1914 - even older actors struggle with it. But, to make matters worse, the dialogue was frequently dreadful - it's as if being on ITV means that everyone has to talk as if they're on Eastenders. Carey Mulligan, who played Kipling's daughter was especially at fault, and I cringed every time she opened her mouth.
Radcliffe valiantly tried his best, and put on a creditrable performance, but his part was grossly underwritten, and he really didn't have much to do other than lend his name to the production for publicity purposes.
I don't know a great deal about Kipling, but what I do know is that he was an extremely complex, intelligent and perceptive man. Here, he was a mouthpiece for simplistic patriotism. Once again, I was left deeply dissatisfied by an ITV drama, which, when you consider the great productions, such as Brideshead Revisited, it has made, is very sad. I tend to have zero expectations these days, and end up wishing I hadn't wasted my time. Meanwhile there's a new BBC production of Cranford coming soon for which I have high expectations.