Television critic Christopher Stevens gave a five-star review to Possession, a five-part Gothic drama broadcast on Sky Atlantic starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Originally titled Inheritance, the series opens with a shot of a decaying mansion on a hill in Jamaica that channels Daphne Du Maurier, whose Gothic novel famously begins, "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again..."
Stevens described the drama as a meditation on Jamaica's violent history and the conflicting emotions stirred up for West Indians whose mixed-race heritage descends from African slaves and European slave traders. Unlike usual television treatments that are two-dimensional and pious, Possession pulsates with unsettling and chilling imagery.
Guguletha Mbatha-Raw MBE plays Claudia, a Bristol solicitor sent to Kingston, Jamaica, after one of the firm's wealthiest clients dies on his country estate. The land was once a sugar plantation run on slave labour, holding a family fortune worth £50 million.
English actor Jonny Lee Miller plays Oliver Connaught, the deceased client's son and heir who receives nothing when the will is opened. Instead, the entire fortune goes to Cudjoe East, a mysterious figure who arrived at the old man's door six months earlier.
Screenwriter Karla Crome took the germ of the story from Jefferson Bannis to create a feverish feeling of past and present overlapping. Stevens noted the setup recalls classic Hollywood cinema, imagining a black-and-white movie version starring Laurence Olivier alongside Merle Oberon or Lena Horne.
Estate Secrets and Historical Connections
The story slides back 200 years to Charlotte, played by Bel Powley, a young woman in pink ribbons at the window of the old house. Charlotte's father, the plantation owner, shared his affections with his illegitimate son Matthew, whose mother was a slave. Matthew is urbane and educated, but treated as a servant by half his relatives and a traitor by the rest.
In the 21st century, Cudjoe East is wild-eyed, boiling with anger, and played by Sheldon Shepherd, who also plays Matthew. Claudia recognizes him with horror, having been tormented by blood-drenched dreams of the house, Matthew, and a locked box.
Bangers and Cash Review
In the same review column, Stevens also covered an episode of Bangers and Cash on U and Yesterday. Son Graham was shown selling his late father's 1957 Austin Metropolitan car. Graham noted that his father kept two photos in his wallet, saying, "One is mum, and the other was this car. None of me and my brother so make of that what you will."
