MGM+ and BBC One’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ *A Tale of Two Cities* has been described as a “bland disappointment” by the *Hollywood Reporter*. The four-part series, starring Kit Harington and François Civil, is noted for lacking a strong, definitive prior filmed interpretation, despite the novel being Dickens’ most streamlined work.
The series follows a love triangle and thriller set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, featuring “colorful characters, breathless cliffhangers, shocking twists” and social commentary. However, the review states that the adaptation suffers from a lack of passion between the three principal actors and visually indistinct sets, resembling “nearly identically designed stages in a warehouse in some affordable Eastern European country.”
The plot begins in Paris in 1764, with a young Lucie Manette witnessing an event involving her father, and jumps forward 18 years to London, where Lucie (Mirren Mack) aspires to be a doctor—a character trait not present in the original novel. She lives with Mrs. Lorry (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) when her life is disrupted by the arrival of Charles Darnay (François Civil), a man working with French revolutionaries, including Madame Defarge (Roxane Duran), to smuggle a woman to safety. Darnay also carries a letter indicating Lucie’s father (Yannick Renier) is still alive, containing the words “recalled to life,” which the review found to be potent in the book but “nearly meaningless” in the series. Darnay is wounded at the English border, allowing Lucie to utilize her medical skills.
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