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Parts ofGentleman Jack, HBOs new period drama fromHappy Valleycreator Sally Wainwright, replicate that 19th-century pace.
Things certainly happen, but theres notthatmuch plot in the total scheme of things.
There are many circling discussions about the price of coal.
Farmers lean over their pitchforks.
Major story developments are destined to occur not tomorrow but maybe in a fortnight.
The world of the show may be genteel and steady, but Lister is not.
Gentleman Jackis based on the life of the real Anne Lister, sometimes described as the first modern lesbian.
InGentleman Jack, Lister is played by Suranne Jones, who taps into beautifully variable, nuanced emotional registers.
She is absolutely heartbroken.
She has to move forward.
She seems to operate at an entirely different tempo than everyone around her.
This discordant music also serves a purpose: Anne is ahead of her time.
She doesnt even quite fit into her own TV series because her life doesnt fit into her historical moment.
Gentleman Jackcould stand to push that discordance even further.
But there is less actual sex than might be expected.
Likewise,Gentleman Jackseems to shy away from its own stakes.
But downplaying the stakes of Annes life also downplays her iconoclasm and her courage.
If she had to be a little self-delusional about her own safety, that makes sense.
A few elements ofGentleman Jackcouldve been drawn more subtly to leave more room for complicating Listers legacy.
The direct address also seems like a bid to confirm were on Annes side.
On the whole, though, the deliberately clashing elements ofGentleman Jackare the things that make it work.
They successfully communicate just how unusual Lister was and how adamantly she insisted on being herself.
