Taking full advantage of one of the world’s most deceptively conflictive eras, The Hour tells the story of a fledgling news team and the investigation of a story that would test their bonds and rock England to the core. BBC’s brilliantly filmed mini-series overflows with talented actors like Romola Garai, Dominic West, Ben Whishaw, Burn Gorman, and others amidst a moody jazz score, simultaneously working as a canvas to depict social class and its seedy underbelly. The storytelling is taut, the acting above reproach, and the final project a testament to the kind of entertainment the BBC produces when it lets talented individuals tell great stories.
Freddie (Whishaw) and Bel (Garai) dream of a news show that gives journalists a platform for hard-hitting pieces about the stories of tomorrow. The idea gains traction with the producers, but with one hitch: Freddie’s dream of being an anchor doesn’t seem to be in the cards. Instead, the studio would rather put charismatic and charming Hector Madden (West) at the news desk; Hector now has Freddie’s desired position, and his suave ways have Bel starting to swoon. As the personal politics heat up, Freddie stumbles upon the death of a powerful politician whose low-key death gets passed over by police and news outlets alike as nothing more than a robbery gone badly. His efforts to uncover the truth lead him down a twisted path complicated by the show’s eroding ratings and pressures from studio executives to take certain angles while ignoring others.
In an age when free press has become an ideal whose very definition has been distorted to mean something wholly different than the intention of our founding fathers, The Hour brings a biting commentary about the nearly impossible feat of maintaining journalistic integrity in the face of both corporate interest and personal entanglement. Is there a channel that covers the 24-hour news cycle that you can trust to offer up an unbiased take on each and every story? Good luck finding it, and the writer of The Hour, Abi Morgan apparently agress. The themes explored here deserve much more attention than a mere 6-hour miniseries can afford, and despite the masterful presentation of the subject matter the series takes far too long to find its footing. Once it does, there are only a few moments of sustained greatness, but they prove the exception to the rule instead of the rule itself. A larger and more heated dissection of journalistic neutrality ought to find a home on some network somewhere, because as a test run for the concept, The Hour shows us just how incredible such a show would be.
The trio of Whishaw, Garai, and West goes a long way towards making The Hour more than just a brief examination of corporate media news reporting that indulges in a bygone era for the sake of an infusion of sexuality. Whishaw’s underdog demeanor gives Freddie a quick boost in interest in the series’ opening minutes which play out scattered across the different stories with little aid for the audience as to exactly what they’re seeing. Yet his first scene, coaching himself in front of a mirror in the bathroom, tells us all we need to know about him and sets him up as the lovable rookie whose ambitions are sabotaged by his enthusiasm, a trait seen as a flaw in the cutthroat executive world. Romola Garai plays Bel well, but her character has inherent flaws in her writing that attempt to take advantage of the “woman in a man’s world” scenario but never solidify into a meaningful arc that impacts the story in a pivotal way. Finally, West oozes self-confidence and it’s all at once intoxicating and unsettling. He commands the screen with every scene he’s in, and depending on who he’s playing against, this can either result in compelling drama or a one-sided disappointment.
This first series has plenty of merit overall in its story and lead actors, but the sum never quite measures up to be greater than its parts. Even with its incredibly polished aesthetic and beautiful jazz score, it’s easier to pick out specific pieces of the production worthy of praise than it is to pronounce the entire thing a resounding success. They had the right idea, but as is it’s only paving the way for a deeper exploration of the themes in another series rather than doing the deed itself.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Two featurettes cover the series’ stunning set design and offer behind-the-scenes footage from production. The former easily wins out as the most interesting considering this period piece has some lavish sets and moody backdrops that helped us overlook the flaws as we watched them. Of course, they couldn’t prevent us from seeing the shortcomings in hindsight, but good looks pass as decent cover for clever conversation in the right situation.
"The Hour" is on sale September 27, 2011 and is not rated. Drama. Directed by Harry Bradbeer, Jamie Payne, Coky Giedroyc. Written by Abi Morgan. Starring Burn Gorman, Dominic West, Romola Garai, Ben Whishaw.
