Father Brown, Season 1 (2013)

The BBC remake of Father Brown is a lot different from the short stories by author G.K. Chesterton. While entertaining, they lack the deep respect for Catholicism, any understanding of the faith beyond a basic comprehension, and the moral tone of the original short stories.

Life seems relatively normal in the small parish of Kembleford, where Father Brown (Mark Williams) manages weekly services and handles confession. But out of nowhere, a body turns up in the churchyard, his head bashed in, and there’s no end of suspects. The victim was a “cad and a wastrel,” sexually blackmailing a local woman and conducting an illicit affair with a young man in the parish. It’s up to Father Brown to get to the bottom of it, along with his secretary, Mrs. McCarthy (Sorcha Cusack), and the help of the perpetual screamer, Lady Felicia (Nancy Carroll).

It turns out, Father Brown has quite an intuitive knack for solving crimes, and a habit of sticking his nose into everyone’s business, as a slew of murders unfold in his formerly quiet community. He crosses mental foils with the local constable and comes to the aid of friends suspected of nefarious activities, before he encounters an infamous jewel thief who develops a fondness for Father Brown’s eccentricities and his concern for the souls of those who cross his path.

This series has been stripped of its religion and suffers for it. Father Brown, a militant moralizer in the short stories, has been re-imagined to keep his moral opinions mostly to himself. He ignores the fact that Lady Felicia is conducting many extramarital affairs, and rarely has any condemning remarks for the flagrant sins committed in his parish, though he urges people not to kill themselves, to go to confession, and to avoid murder. And he can get wrathy if people blame God for their troubles or try to pretend they did nothing wrong. The original Father Brown would not turn as blind an eye to the sin in his parish, which neuters the stories of any depth or meaning. That being said, Mark Williams gives a likable performance as a priest who pretends to dotter about to conceal a sharp mind. He is often two steps ahead of the law, and the finale is quite clever and fun, although it doesn’t hold a candle to the original story (in the original, his encounter with a famous jewel thief leads to an unlikely friendship).

The cast is strong, with various guest performances from famous British thespians, and the costuming is terrific. Lady Felicia never shows up without a fantastic ensemble, a fur coat, a classy hat, or a pair of high heels, and the comedy is cute. She is always the person who “screams” – unnecessarily loudly sometimes. But there are weird moments and habits that make little sense for anyone who has grown up in the church, such as Mrs. McCarthy’s tendency to take Jesus’ name in vain when shocked; she is pious and prudish and still shrieks, “Jesus. Mary and Joseph!” It commits all kinds of crimes without being too explicit, but there’s a heavy dose of sexual sins alluded to, including blackmail, prostitution, adultery, and other shenanigans. It’s a decent viewing for those looking for a period mystery, but a bit like sponge cake: delicious to consume, but in the end, it feels empty.

     
Sexual Content:

The victim in the first episode is bisexual, and is having an affair with a man (we see him entering a shed with him) and blackmailing a woman into sex (we see him fastening up his belt, and her asking him if this is the last time). A man cross-dresses for a play. Felicia is flirting with another man despite being married and talks about how attractive he is, but it’s unclear if it’s gone further than that. A man is found half-dressed and in a coma. One episode features a prostitute, in which she says she knows half the men in the village. An evil Nazi pretends to be a priest, and solicits a hooker. Other episodes involve illegitimate children. A man has his wife and mistress under one roof, and seems to be trying to establish a cult that preys on young women.
 
Language:
Jesus' name is abused 6 times. Other minor uses of damn and hell.
 
Violence:

People are bumped off in various ways—struck over the head, thrown out of cars, hit by flying hammers, drowned, tossed in front of trains, and found hanging. It’s rarely graphic, but there is occasional blood, and of course, always a dead body. 

 
Other:
A woman trips over a dead cat that has been poisoned; a woman mentions having had an abortion.