Adapted from Emily St. John Mandel’s sprawling, time-hopping post-apocalyptic novel, the book’s transition to TV results in a more streamlined but still flawed exercise in end-of-the-world storytelling.
When a flu pandemic decimates North America, survivors flee the big cities. Life is hard, and only the most resilient and self-aware individuals endure the aftermath. As the US reverts to a new wild frontier, the story focuses on the affairs of the Travelling Symphony, a wandering troupe of actors and musicians who perform Shakespeare plays to the acclaim of entertainment-starved communities. The ten-part mini-series takes on board many of the novel’s preoccupying themes, including the titular comic book that many characters find compelling, and the threat posed by a nihilistic prophet. Theatre and the importance of art and culture in enriching the human experience underpins much of the drama.
But the show imports many of the novel’s weaknesses, most notably its lack of focus: something that becomes increasingly apparent in the later episodes. The reason why the Station Eleven graphic novel is so apparently mesmerising is never really explained. The pivotal character of the venal stage actor Arthur Leander is as unengaging on screen as he is in the pages of the novel. It’s all impressively realised on screen and full of fabulous visuals. The story is brought to life by some winning performances amongst a large ensemble cast (David Wilmot is particularly impressive as the fractious and fractured Clark). But the story is insufficiently compelling, and the continual flipping of time and place, together with the languid pace, will start to test many viewers’ patience.
STATION ELEVEN is available in the UK on StarzPlay from January 30th.
