Some random observations about Wolf Hall (so far)
On this side of the pond, we've just finished the second episode of Wolf Hall (to accompany the Broadway opening of, well, Wolf Hall--we seem to be in Thomas Cromwell overload). I had three interrelated thoughts about a) the Barry Lyndon-esque lighting, b) how Cromwell is shot vs. how Anne Boleyn is shot, and c) the status of this film as a prestige costume drama, of the sort we Yanks see anthologized by Masterpiece Theatre.
a) I'm not the only American who cracks jokes about how British detective dramas tend to be wildly underlit, as if the BBC and ITV left lighting out of their budget estimates. Everything is gloomy, illuminated only by random beams of light filled with dust motes. In Wolf Hall, by contrast, the overwhelming darkness is not so much heavy-handed symbolism (although there's symbolism there) as it is an act of historical imagination itself. Many "Tudor" films and miniseries employ enough light, even in "dark" scenes, to enable viewers to gaze upon spectacular costumes and scenic designs--the aesthetic signs of historical authenticity, intended to atone for equally spectacular deviations from established historical facts and accepted historical narratives. (Think of the Elizabeth films, for example.) Wolf Hall, by contrast, asks us to see, not the characters themselves (who are sometimes barely visible), but as the characters. This, I think, may be part of the miniseries' attempt to make up for the loss of Cromwell's unusual narrative voice--if our gaze cannot quite be filtered through Cromwell's, it can at least be filtered a bit like Cromwell's. Not much is clear, literally or figuratively.
b) The director frequently shoots Cromwell in medium shots to closeups that accentuate his face and upper body; just as frequently, Cromwell is looking at and listening to other people, as much or more than he speaks or is watched. By contrast, Anne Boleyn is most often in medium or long shots that display her very costume-drama-ish costumes (of which more in just a second). In the second episode, for example, when she converses with Cromwell, she is very carefully "framed" by the combination of her chair, her centering in the shot, her parallel ladies-in-waiting, and the window behind her. Unlike the darkness which tends to accompany Cromwell, Anne is almost always brightly lit; moreover, the framing stages her as a person to be gazed at. (Yes, this is getting rather Laura Mulvey-ish, I suppose.) The viewer can see Anne quite clearly, even though so much else is obscure.
c) Anne Boleyn's costumes are the most stereotypically costume-drama style dresses in the miniseries so far: brighter coloring, embroidery, trim, textures, etc. The other women are either glimpsed in the dark or are wearing plainer clothes (even Mary Boleyn, for example). When we enter Anne Boleyn's space, that is, we also enter a more traditional form of costume drama, which caters to viewers interested in elaborate visual signifiers of the past (and has historically been associated with female audiences). To what extent does this also reflect how Anne herself perceives her place at that particular moment in time?