Customer Reviews

Sally Lockhart Mysteries - Ruby In the Smoke

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I happened to catch the TV promotion for this before it aired and decided to watch partly because it had Billie Piper in it. I like British period detective dramas anyway and I wanted to see if she was good at something other than "Rose Tyler" from Dr. Who. I thought the story was pretty good, and the look of just about everything was wonderful- almost like being there.
Unlike the first review and at least the first comment I believe Ms. Piper did a good job. I found very little to complain about in this movie, it was a bit rushed towards the finish- 96 minutes would've been better than 86- and I think Sally's photographer friend's work tent was much too light (not dark enough inside it), that's about it.

If more are made in the series I'll watch and buy them.

Based on Philip Pullman's novel (which I have not read), this television adaptation is highly entertaining and engaging. `The Ruby in the Smoke' is set in England in 1874. Sally Lockhart (Billie Piper), a feisty young woman whose father has been killed in mysterious circumstances, now resides with her fusty Aunt Caroline. "What accomplishments do you have?" asks the spiteful elderly lady. Sally tells her that she has none save the ability to fire a pistol, speak Hindustani and to read an accounts ledger as easily as a newspaper. By the time she has removed herself from this stifling atmosphere, Sally is immersed in her first mystery. The catalyst for this upheaval is a cryptic note that she has received from Singapore concerning her father's untimely death. Much murderous mayhem and derring-do ensues when the eponymous ruby's existence becomes known.

Sally's business acumen comes to her rescue when she takes on the books at the lovelorn Frederick's (JJ Field) photography business in return for bed and board. He and capable cockney lad, Jim (Matt Smith), take on sidekick status as they are confronted by the vile and devious Mrs. Holland (Julie Walters) who will stop at nothing in order to secure the ruby for herself.

The acting is excellent, notably from Julie Walters. I don't think I've seen her playing a baddie before, but she appears to be thoroughly enjoying playing this sadistic character. Billie Piper gives an understated performance here, in keeping with her character's age and status. Visually, this is a real treat with some stunning photography that captures the colourful opulence of the haves as well as the dingy squalor of the have-nots. The story does demand some attention from the viewer: it's not something you can watch and switch your brain off. However, for those who enjoy quality costume drama coupled with mystery, this is a fine example.

"The Ruby in the Smoke" is adapted from the first book in "The Sally Lockhart Mysteries" series, written by Philip Pullman in the 1980s and 1990s to recall the style of Victorian penny dreadfuls. Indeed, as a I watched this film, I wondered if it had been written at the time it takes place, the 1870s. With its intrepid but pure young heroine, handsome men always quick to help her, opium dens, Dickensonian children, haggish villainess, and an improbable and labyrinthine plot in which key action is not always depicted, this story has the hallmarks of hacks and cheap Victorian melodrama. Maybe there is a little modernization: I doubt that Victorians would have jumped to hire a teenaged female accountant -because she is a woman, whereas now she would be dismissed for being young.

"The Sally Lockhart Mysteries" take themselves seriously enough that they don't fall headlong into camp. Even if nothing is quite believable, it is at least plausible in principle. I'm not sure who the audience is for a Victorian shilling-shocker these days -older children or adults- but these are good fun if the audience doesn't try to make anything more of them. Sally Lockhart is a woman in her late teens with little in the world to her name since her father died. Having been a shipping agent and minor adventurer, Captain Lockhart imparted to his daughter three skills: he taught her how to shoot a pistol, how to speak Hindustani, and how to keep accounts. Now the young lady is adrift in London with this odd combination of talents, with which she must make a life for herself.

"The Ruby in the Smoke" finds Sally (Billie Piper) mourning the loss of her father at sea. She receives a cryptic note about which she consults her father's business associate, who proves less than helpful, as he promptly dies. But an assistant at the Lockhart & Shelby shipping firm, Jim Taylor (Matt Smith), has overheard her conversation and pledges to help Sally solve the mystery. A Major Marchbanks (Miles Anderson) gives Sally a diary containing the story of how he acquired the brilliant Ruby of Agrapur years before and a riddle to where it is hidden now. But, before dying himself, he warns Sally that a ruthless woman named Mrs. Holland (Julie Waters) will be in pursuit. A chance meeting with dashing and kind photographer Frederick Garland (J.J. Feild) brings Sally another much-needed ally.

Sally, as her father called her when he was alive, receives a mysterious note that throws suspicion on her father's accidental death. Pursuing this information, she soon will find herself discovering her past and unraveling a dream she had since childhood. In this pursuit, she makes many new friends and some deadly enemies.

Based on a novel by Bill Pullman (author of "The Golden Compass") you can see the Pullman pattern in the story. Pullman always has strong willed women. Adrian Hodges wrote the screenplay and kept the essentials while making it more palatable as a film. Many people watched the BBC production because Sally is well played by Billie Piper of "Dr. Who" fame. Yet all of the other actors most pretty well known in their own rights helped make this an excellent presentation; another well known actor Julie Walters who played Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter film series makes a spooky antagonist as the amoral Mrs. Holland.


The Sally Lockhart Mysteries - Shadow in the North

Interested in this because it was by Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass, etc. This is a video based on the 1st of a trilogy of books. Both the story and the production were very good. It has a very sophisticated plot, with many twists and turns.

2007's "Ruby in the Smoke" is a Masterpiece Theater presentation, featuring Billie Piper (Mansfield Park) as a most unusual Victorian-era female detective, in a complex but thrilling period mystery.

As the story opens in London in 1874, young Sally Lockheart is newly orphaned and living with a rather stern aunt. A strange note summons her to the former shipping offices of her father, where one of the surviving partners literally drops dead of fear at a reading of the note. The story is off at a gallop, and manages to pack several interlocking puzzles into a breathless 86 minutes. At the heart of the mystery is a long-lost and fabulous ruby, a prize sought not only by Sallie but by a enigmatic but deadly old woman named Mrs. Holland. Along the way, Sallie will get help from a smitten young photographer (JJ Feild from Northanger Abbey), a street-wise shipping clerk, an actress, a black cleric, and the madame of an opium den. Sallie turns out to have a surprising talent for sleuthing, but the path of her clues winds through several plot twists and some briefly intense action scenes to a fateful confrontation with Mrs. Holland.

"Ruby in the Smoke" was meant to be the set-up episode for a series of stories; in consequence, introducing recurring characters and setting up their collective premise consumes much screentime. Nevertheless, "Ruby" is a well-staged period drama with surprises around every turn, and an ending that will leave the viewer anxious for the next episode. It is very highly recommended as good entertainment for fans of Masterpiece Mystery.

This was a great start to begin this particular mystery series. There is already a second one made but has not made it to DVD just yet. I enjoy watching Billie Piper onscreen as well as the other actors. She was great in Doctor Who and can pull this off as well. It was well-done and intriguing.

Very good presentation. The acting was up to the standard of the BBC. Enjoyed it.

A suspensful adaptation of Philip Pullman's book--though too short. It moves rather too quickly at times, making it difficult to understand why certain events happened. JJ Feilds from the new "Northanger Abbey" was charming as Frederick and Julie Christie is fantastically creepy as Mrs. Holland.

we saw part of this on TV and had to have it. Part of a series based on three books. Hoping they will do the third one soon