The Bletchley Circle

[birdienl]

During WWII women were offered many jobs previously only done by men. Among them were Susan, Millie, Lucy and Jean, the four women we get to know in The Bletchley Circle. They worked at Bletchley Park, the secret location where German messages in code language were deciphered. Now, some seven years later, the women have started new lives and lost touch. Susan is now a mother of two children and a housewife. Listening to news on the radio about a murderer who seems to prey on young women, Susan believes she's picked up a pattern in his behaviour. When the police does not take her ideas seriously, Susan contacts her former colleagues and convinces them together they can solve this mystery before another woman falls prey. But are they aware of the dangers this might pose to themselves?

The Bletchley Circle is an unexpected little gem of a mini-series, one of those gems that seem to come from British television ever so often, hardly announced and not picked up by many people. What a pity!

The acting in The Bletchley Circle is great. Of course no less could be expected from the wonderful Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House, South Riding), who convincingly plays the intelligent Susan. But a nod should certainly also go to Sophie Rundle playing shy but strong Lucy in her first mayor role for television.

The Bletchley Circle, though taking place in the '50s, feels like a WWII drama in a way, probably because both the acquaintance of the leading ladies as well as the central mystery tie back to the war. The mystery is complex and convincing and it is great to piece together the puzzle alongside the four clever ladies as you watch the series. Comparison of the mystery in The Bletchley Circle to a detective such as Inspector Lewis does not come amiss!

The Bletchley Circle clocks in at about three hours. This is enough time for a good elaboration of the mystery story, but unfortunately we don't get to know the leading ladies very well. Compare this mini-series to watching two loose episodes of for example Foyle's War. You wouldn't get to know Foyle or Sam very well or expect to see much character development in this limited time. The same goes for The Bletchley Circle. Though there is a small personal story for Lucy during the two episodes, for the other women, you can't help but wonder: What have they been doing since the war? What is their life like and what happened to their dreams and aspirations? But most of all, as the series ends (and it does so rather abruptly), you are left wondering: how has working on this case changed the lives of these women? Can Susan ever really get back to being 'only' a mother and housewife? To answer this question, we can only hope for a next series of The Bletchley Circle!

I would recommend this mini-series to anyone interested in WWII history or fans of British detective series. You will get a gripping story of high quality starring four interesting and strong women as leading characters.

What to know: A victim is seen screaming and tied up and later, when discovered, she lies bloody and lifeless, her clothing in disarray. Conversations reveal how the victims are murdered. Lucy is nearly assaulted before the manages to escape. Provocative sex crime cards are glimpsed in a few shots. Spousal abuse is present and one man is shot multiple times. The rating is TV14.

This review was written for the Period Drama Challenge at Old-Fashioned Charm

Comments

[rissi jc (from livejournal.com)]

My mother and I really liked this series. It was interesting and built up a decent amount of suspense. The cast was excellent and despite there being no articles to the effect, I have hopes we'll get another set of this miniseries. Perhaps never summer!?

Glad you liked them also!

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

Ah, did you hear something about a possible sequel? At least we're getting a new series of Foyle's War soon, although the premise seems to have changed a bit.