Louis
Lester’s band swings so hard, many of their fans assume he is an American, but
he is really a born and bred British subject.
Several high society types will take an interest in them, but that will
not always be a good thing during the course of Stephen Poliakoff’s Dancing on the Edge (trailer here), a six night
mini-series beginning this Saturday on Starz.
Stanley
Mitchell is a progressive jazz fan, but he is also a bit of an operator. He sings the praises of the Lester band,
hoping his magazine Music Express will
rise with their tide. While not to the
manor born himself, Mitchell knows many of the right people, like Arthur
Donaldson, a man of leisure who happens to appreciate real deal jazz. Through Donaldson’s connections and Mitchell’s
glad-handing, the Lester band books some high profile gigs, eventually becoming
the house band at the formerly staid Imperial Hotel.
For
a while, it seems like everyone will enjoy the good life together, especially
when the mysterious American tycoon, Walter Masterson, starts inviting the band
to his lavish parties, along with the wealthy but somewhat emotionally
codependent Luscombe siblings. The
interracial romance brewing between Lester and Sarah, a photographer close to
the Luscombes, obviously portends future trouble, but the erratic Julian
Luscombe’s reckless pursuit of the band’s lead singer will lead to more
immediate problems.
Chiwetel
Ejiofor is about to become an Oprah superstar through 12 Years a Slave, but his turn as Lester is arguably his best work
since Dirty Pretty Things. In many ways, it is a treatise on “cool” as a
defense strategy and a personal aesthetic.
Rigidly controlled, Ejiofor still shows us all the gears turning in his
head. Arguably, the major historical
influences on his Lester are the suave sophistication of Ellington (whose 1930’s
small big band could be a model for the Lester outfit) and the not-so-passive
aggressive aloofness of Miles Davis to come in later years.
In
contrast, Matthew Goode gives Mitchell a slightly manic edge, nicely playing
off the tightly wound Ejiofor in their smartly written scenes together. (If you’re asking whether he rings to someone
who has written about and championed jazz, the answer is yes.) Probably nobody is more over-exposed for Anglophiles
than Tom Hughes right now, but while he was conspicuously miscast in About Time, The Hollow Crown, and The Lady Vanishes, he is sort of perfect
for the boyishly creepy Julian Luscombe.
Like Hughes, John Goodman brings out the messy human dimensions of
grandly indulgent Masterson, a role that could have easily descended into gross
caricature.
In
fact, one of writer-director Poliakoff’s great strengths is the manner in which
he preserves some degree of audience sympathy for all his characters despite
their often horrid actions. Shrewdly, he
also maintains considerable ambiguity regarding certain relationships, instead
of beating viewers about the head, as a less artful production might. Dancing
does right by the music as well, featuring a soundtrack of original era appropriate
swingers and ballads, recorded by real life working jazz and studio musicians, who
also appear in character as the Lester band.
If jazz advocates will have any gripe with Dancing it will be the lack of development for the musicians,
besides Lester and his two vocalists.
Like
the best of television, Dancing quickly
hooks in viewers and keeps them emotionally invested throughout. Poliakoff captures the exhilaration of the
after-hours jam, but also incorporates pointed references to the ominous rise
of National Socialism, Britain’s lack of military preparedness, and the rather
dubious character of the future temporary Edward VIII.
