Catholic News Service
Possessing all the characteristic traits of a prestige BBC production, the “Masterpiece” miniseries “Wolf Hall,” which premieres on PBS stations Sunday, April 5, would seem well poised to leave viewers howling with delight.
And therein lies the problem. With its sumptuous staging and star performances, fans could easily mistake this polished portrayal of English history for a factual account.
In reality, it’s a work of fiction that adopts a narrow, revisionist and anti-Catholic point of view toward the religious turmoil of the Tudor period in which it’s set. Accordingly, “Wolf Hall,” like its titular predator, should be handled with care’ all the more so since it also includes some mature themes.
Directed by Peter Kosminsky, the six-hour series is adapted from two best-selling historical novels by Hilary Mantel, 2009’s “Wolf Hall” and its 2012 sequel, “Bring Up the Bodies.”
The story is a familiar, oft-told one. King Henry VIII (Damian Lewis) needs a son and heir; he’s also besotted with one of his courtiers, Anne Boleyn (Claire Foy).
Additionally, Henry entertains doubts about the validity of his marriage to his Spanish-born queen, Catherine of Aragon (Joanne Whalley). His scruples are based on Catherine’s previous union, which may or may not have been consummated, with Henry’s deceased older brother, Arthur. So the headstrong monarch seeks a way to unloose the two decade-old tie.
Henry’s chancellor, the ambitious Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (Jonathan Pryce), is charged with obtaining an annulment from the pope. At Wolsey’s side is his faithful lawyer, Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance).
The case drags on for two years, and a trial is held in London. But papal politics intervene, and Rome says no. Enraged, Henry dismisses Cardinal Wolsey, and replaces him with rising-star attorney Thomas More (Anton Lesser).
As the tale proceeds, heads literally roll, and the future of the Catholic Church hangs in the balance, weighed unequally against Henry’s urgent desire for a legitimate male successor.
In an interview with the London Daily Telegraph, Mantel said, “The Catholic Church is not an institution for respectable people.” No wonder, then, that her characterizations of Cromwell and More, faithfully adhered to by screenwriter Peter Straughan, are so wrong-headed.
The roles, as traditionally understood, are reversed: Cromwell is the sympathetic hero; More the ruthless villain.
The first episode, “Three Card Trick,” sets the tone. Cromwell takes pity on the floundering cardinal, entertaining him with a deck of cards. Such sleight-of-hand was a useful skill back when Cromwell was a poor boy living on the streets. Cardinal Wolsey quips that the trick might come in handy, should he himself ever need to earn a living.
We’re encouraged to root for the self-made commoner Cromwell. He’s portrayed as a pragmatist but also as a virtuous man who overcomes multiple personal tragedies in his rise to be the king’s chief adviser.
In reality, Cromwell was a monster, engineering a reign of terror that dismantled the Catholic Church, annihilated monastic life and put to death anyone, including More, who resisted the breach with Rome.
In this first installment, we get only a glimpse of More, but it’s not a pretty sight. The future saint is barely recognizable: sleazy, mean-spirited and just plain rude. This evidence-flouting caricature is light-years away from the man of principle who chose martyrdom over compromise, proclaiming himself, on the scaffold, to be “the king’s good servant, but God’s first.”
The authentically candlelit interiors of “Wolf Hall” are so dim that viewers may need to adjust the brightness of their TV screens. As a result of the series’ distorted, prejudice-laden presentation of the past, however, not all the darkness encountered while watching it is physical.
The first episode of “Wolf Hall” is rated TV-PG/V — parental guidance suggested; moderate violence. The series continues Sundays through May 10, each night (check local listings).
