The Moonstone

Wilkie Collins' 1868 novel, originally published serially in one of his friend Charles Dickens' magazines, is regarded as the earliest modern British detective story. But the detective—Sergeant Cuff, played a bit fussily in this sumptuously-made 1996 BBC telefilm (broadcast in the U.S. on Masterpiece Theatre) by Antony Sher—isn't really at the center of this story: rather, he's merely the means by which the mystery of a stolen Indian diamond that curses the lives of two attractive young aristocrats (Greg Wise and Patricia Hodge) is eventually resolved. Collins' tale—involving exotic mysticism, skullduggery at high social levels, endangered romance, drug-induced trances, and even suicide by quicksand, in addition to good, old-fashioned ratiocination—hasn't held up very well, coming across as rather musty and absurd (and cramming a long book—well over five hundred pages—into a two-hour framework only serves to accentuate the ludicrous goings-on). But the cast, including redoubtable veteran Peter Vaughan as the butler (whom Collins used as a narrator), play the piece with a nice mixture of seriousness and in-on-the-joke archness, and the production is colorful and eye-catching. The Moonstone will never be mistaken for great literature, but this enjoyable adaptation proves a worthy attempt to capture its somewhat loony period charm, and the accompanying score, which adapts pieces by the author's contemporaries Schumann and Chopin, is lovely. Recommended. (F. Swietek)