Shardlake review: An atmospheric adaptation, brimming with promise

Now, along comes Shardlake, a new adaptation of the best-selling novels by CJ Sansom. Part murder mystery, part Tudor historical, the books have long been thought ripe for adaptation, with executive producer Stevie Lee acquiring the rights over 20 years ago.

After multiple previous attempts to tell the stories either on film or as a series, finally this four-part show arrives on Disney Plus. And, thankfully, it's been worth the wait.

Shardlake follows the titular, fictional Matthew Shardlake (Arthur Hughes), a barrister living with scoliosis in 16th-century England, who has made a name for himself and come under the favour of the powerful real-life figure Thomas Cromwell (Sean Bean).

Cromwell is currently overseeing the dissolution of the monasteries, and has sent a commissioner to Scarnsea on the south coast of England to try and find a legitimate reason for closure. The commissioner, it turns out, winds up beheaded.

Following this, Cromwell hires Shardlake to go to Scarnsea with another of his employees, the dashing Jack Barak (Anthony Boyle). They are to find the culprit behind the commissioner's murder, and in doing so find a reason to close the monastery.

In so many ways, this set-up says it all - the actual plot of the series is relatively simple (Shardlake and Barak must find a murderer in a monastery) - but it's rich in historical detail, in theological debate and in complex character study.

Speaking of complex characters, you don't get much more layered than Shardlake himself. A thoroughly decent, honourable figure from the moment we meet him, it's clear that we can trust and root for him, but also that he's flawed, riddled by his own self-doubt, and living in a time where his disability makes him an outsider and a victim of prejudice.

All of this plays across Hughes's face in each and every scene, while he still manages to show Shardlake's command of a room, his external confidence in his own intellect and eye for detail. It's a winning central performance, one which marks him out as a leading man on the screen as well as the stage, where he is best known.

One of the most consequential decisions to have been made in the adaptation process is to bring forward the arrival of Shardlake's sidekick-of-sorts Jack Barak. Barak is not in the first Shardlake novel, Dissolution, on which this season is based, but is instead introduced in book two.

It's a choice which has paid off, with the hostile, sparring dynamic between two of the show's most captivating elements proving great to watch throughout. The duo are notably ill-matched - or, you could say, complimentary to one another's strengths - and this leads to not only dramatic tension, but also many of the show's more comedic moments.

Boyle continues to have one of the best years of any actor working today, and has marked himself out as the go-to guy for historical drama. Perhaps more importantly, he continues to showcase his range within these separate projects.

Where Masters of the Air's Crosby was on a journey from sweetly naive to decent yet hardened and efficient, and Manhunt's Booth was self-obsessed and hateful, Barak is vain and flash, yet ultimately well-meaning. It's a fine line to tread as a character, making him a foil for our protagonist yet still sympathetic, but Boyle is more than up to the challenge.

Completing the central trio is Sean Bean's Thomas Cromwell, although he plays a lesser role than some might expect, popping up for a handful of admittedly memorable scenes.

That's why you cast an actor of Bean's stature and calibre in the role - with limited screen-time, he quickly marks Cromwell out as a formidable and outsized presence in the lives of not only Shardlake and Barak, but in truth the entirety of the English state and its people.

The series doesn't skimp on the historical detail, packing the dialogue with information but never making it seems clunky or overtly expositional.

It never forgets that we're dealing with those outside of court, rather than King Henry VIII himself or any of the other power players (bar Cromwell), and therefore gives a specific and unique take on the period rarely seen in pop culture.

However, if you're not a particular history buff and the detail of the period is of little interest, or if you know it all and don't need a refresher, then one of the strongest aspects of the show is not necessarily its historicity, but actually its atmosphere, its vibes.

There's a dark, creepy, foreboding slant to many of the scenes, particularly once Shardlake and Barak are in the monastery. This is helped along by some effective direction from Justin Chadwick, as well as a strong visual style and impressive production design. Everything on screen has been breathtakingly rendered, making it a feast for the eyes.

Despite this edge, the show never forgets to have fun, with a twinkle in its eye and an almost swashbuckling entertainment factor. It is thoughtful and detailed, but it's also accessible.

It's also earnest, in a way which makes it feel like something of a welcome throwback, but never cloyingly so.

Nowhere is this more clear than in Shardlake's semi-frequent soliloquies, which may seem stagey in another series, but with Hughes's dramatic talents and some effective dialogue from writer Stephen Butchard, instead feel era appropriate and atmosphere enhancing.

Perhaps the element of the series which is least successful is the central mystery. While it's engaging as a conceit, and operates well as a mechanism to explore the historical backdrop, there is a lack of intrigue surrounding who the actual culprit is.

Many of the proposed suspects, the monks, are indiscriminately shifty, making the question of who did what rather inert. Without giving away any spoilers, the resolution does little to rectify this.

Still, it's a minor criticism in the face of a whole lot that the series does right, including its runtime. Sticking to four episodes, and not opting to drag it out to six or eight parts as so many series do, it never outstays its welcome, not remotely.

In fact, it does quite the opposite, and leaves you immediately wanting future adventures. More than just acting as an effective story in its own right, this season also acts as the perfect set-up of a world for additional stories, with engaging characters and an enticing historical backdrop.

Here's hoping the audience at large agree, and give this adaptation their support and, most importantly, their viewership. With so many of the fantastic historicals we've seen of late being one and done, it seems in Shardlake we may have found the potential for a fascinating and characterful returning series of Tudor mysteries - and doesn't that sound enticing?

Shardlake premieres on Disney Plus on Wednesday 1st May. You can sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year now.

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