They
are called “world wars” because they swept across nations, continents, and
social classes. It was pretty much all-hands-on-deck for the United Kingdom in
1939. Both the well-heeled Chase family and the working-class Bennett family
will become deeply involved in the war and awkwardly intertwined with each other
in the seven-part World on Fire, created and written by Peter Bowker,
which premieres this Sunday on PBS.
Aspiring
jazz singer Lois Bennett and Harry Chase met and probably fell in love as
anti-fascist activists, despite his snobby mother Robina’s efforts to break
them up. Instead, the Foreign Office severs their romance by posting Harry (a
gifted linguist) in Poland. While in-country, he has a fling with Kasia Tomaszeski,
a pretty waitress. Nancy Campbell, a hawkish American radio journalist in the
Martha Gellhorn mold, convinces Chase to marry Tomaszeski, to save her from the
brutality of the inevitable National Socialist occupation. However, she crosses
him up, sending her little brother Jan in her place. That certainly surprises
Mother Robina.
To
further complicate matters, Bennett is pregnant with Chase’s child, but she
wants nothing to do with him or his family. Her father, Douglas Bennett (who
became an ardent pacifist after suffering PTSD during WWI) is more pragmatic. He
also has a wayward son to worry about. To avoid prison time, punky Tom Bennett
enlisted in the Navy, but that will soon bring him into harm’s way.
Meanwhile,
Campbell returns to Berlin, where she starts investigating the National
Socialists’ euthanasia policies, while chafing against the restrictions placed
on her by her minder/censor. It is personal for Campbell, because of her
affection for a neighbor’s daughter, who suffers from epilepsy. She is also concerned
about the safety of her nephew, Webster O’Connor, a doctor at the American
Hospital in Paris, who is in secret romantic relationship with Albert Fallou, a
French North African jazz musician.
Phew,
that pretty much covers the scorecard of principal characters. Of course, their
lives will intersect in multiple ways, well beyond Harry Chase’s tomcatting.
Frankly, the Harry-and-Lois sudsy angst gets tiresome fast. On the other hand,
Campbell’s struggle to report the truth is really smartly written, high-stakes
drama. It also suddenly holds real world relevancy, given Mainland China’s
recent expulsion of American journalists.
Frankly,
Helen Hunt does some of her best work (maybe ever) as Campbell. She plays her
with appropriate Rosalind Russell sharpness, but also conveys her vulnerability
in scenes where her character is trying not to be vulnerable. Zofia Wichlacz is
also terrific as Tomaszeski, who will be profoundly changed by war. Fans of
Polish cinema will also appreciate the presence and gravitas of Tomasz Kot (the
tragic co-lead in Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War) portraying Tomaszeski’s
veteran father, Stefan.
Sean
Bean gets to live past the first episode as Douglas Bennett and he brings a lot
of humanity and pathos to the series. Julia Brown fairs better as Lois Bennett
than Jonah Hauer-King as the cringy Chase, but their melodrama is definitely
the weak spot of the series. Brown also gets to some off some solid vocal chops
singing several era-appropriate jazz standards. However, Lesley Manville up-stages
the entire London-based ensemble, playing tart-tongued Robina Chase to the hilt.
Think of her as a younger, 1930s version of Downton Abbey’s Dowager
Countess (Dame Maggie Smith).
Bowker
does a nice job of juggling his many characters and settings, but viewers
should understand a second season has already been greenlit, because he
resolves practically nothing. The warfighting special effects do not always
look so good on a larger screen, but he really focuses more on the characters. The
series also downplays, but does not completely ignore the Soviet Union’s role
carving up Poland with Germany. (Molotov-Ribbentrop is never mentioned.) Still,
there is some rather cool jazz, especially during the Parisian club scenes.
Recommended as an addictive high-class soap opera, World on Fire starts
this Sunday (4/5) on most PBS stations nationwide.
