A Suitable Boy

Echoes of Austen, and Dickens and Shakespeare, enliven the six glorious hours of A Suitable Boy. [7 -20 Dec 2020, p.8]

A fascinating period piece that fuses elements of romantic drama and political thriller and wonders to what extent “we can make our own happiness,” “A Suitable Boy” is an engrossing achievement.

Once those first nuts and bolts [introducing characters and the plot] were in place and it allowed itself to relax, I found it a luscious, zesty pie of a drama, directed by Mira Nair to be beautiful and cinematic at every opportunity.

Lata’s quandary becomes the show’s central focus—which is for the best, because it plays to Nair’s strengths without taking Davies too far out of his comfort zone. ... Much weaker, unfortunately, is the secondary story line that follows Maan. ... But to the extent that A Suitable Boy transcends escapism, it’s because [Nair] brought the substance along with the sparkle.

After the early exposition, understandable given the number of characters, the programme settles into its stride. Where The Luminaries was gloomy and difficult to follow, A Suitable Boy is bright and comprehensible, thanks to Davies’ well trained eye for structure and Nair’s unobtrusive direction. While they can’t resist the hoary old attractions of trains and temples – there’s even a Holi festival thrown in – they build a semi-plausible world with a clear story.

Unfortunately, “A Suitable Boy” lacks the comedic touch of “Downton Abbey” or the critical lens of “The Crown,” languishing somewhere in the middle and coming up short. Without a defined perspective on the class and religious conflict it uses as a narrative backdrop, “A Suitable Boy” feels like frothy fluff — yummy in the moment but easily forgettable and won’t fill you up.

Nair splashes us with jiggly sex scenes and unsubtle camerawork. The potency of Seth's story remains intact; Davies and Nair's stylization nearly clobbers it.