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In 1832 in Halifax, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, where things were well aligned with that struggling woman named Ann Leicester. We live here in a series of dramatic events that reflect the drama that Anne Lester lives with at home with her family and her service. Ann also has another life with her industrial foes, who will use any dirty tricks they can drop. It is possible that Anne will remain steadfast in the face of these challenges through more love, humor and endurance.
Watch [Gentleman Jack] for Jones' forceful, vivacious, smart-as-hell portrayal of a defiant iconoclast who chose to value her own integrity over whatever it was society needed her to value.
At first blush, this eight-episode series may look more PBS than HBO, but the second blush is a doozy -- and it would probably send "Masterpiece" pledge-drivers straight to the fainting couch.
Between Wainwright's crisp, fair-minded scripts and star Suranne Jones' flawless performance, it's tempting to believe that Anne Lister was the most fascinating person of the 19th century...
On the whole, though, the deliberately clashing elements of Gentleman Jack are the things that make it work. They successfully communicate just how unusual Lister was and how adamantly she insisted on being herself.
Gentleman Jack treads a meandering line-sometimes satisfying but often frustrating, a character study whose central figure remains opaque despite her grand illustration.
It's disappointing to see the show back off potentially rich opportunities to translate Anne's interiority, which inspired the entire series after all, to the screen.
Lively, tongue-in-cheek at times and enormously playful, Gentleman Jack is an utter gem of British drama. You can't take your eyes off the central character, and you're drawn into her world and her heart with exquisite ease.