agmtw logo
search

Gentleman Jack

Gentleman Jack

The Very Best

8.0

An invigorating sapphic drama about the first modern lesbian

TV Show

United Kingdom
English
Drama
2019

TLDR

Gentleman Jack walked so Dickinson could run (kidding, they’re both sorely underrated shows that you should watch now if you haven’t yet).

What it's about

Co-produced by HBO and the BBC, Gentleman Jack is a series based on the diaries of Anne Lister, a landowning English diarist considered by many as “the first modern lesbian.”

The take

A quick look at Anne Lister’s Wikipedia page will let you know that the English landowner lived a full life. She dutifully attended to her tenants, traveled widely, wrote frequently, and loved oh so deeply. With Gentleman Jack, a nickname Lister received during her lifetime, Director Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley) gives her story justice by telling it with sufficient skill and sensitivity. Wainwright isn’t afraid to explore her voracious sexual appetite, her intellectual rigor, and her at-times questionable stance on land tenure. Wainwright’s decision to make the show as much about Lister as the servants and tenants is reminiscent of dramas like Downton Abbey, which give us a fuller picture of life back in the 1800s. Though it can sometimes make the show tonally discordant (is this a lesbian erotica, a day in the life period piece, or a family drama?) it ultimately adds to the richness of the story.

What stands out

The fact that in the 1800s, you’d have to be as rich as Anne to pursue true love and independence, but even then you’d be hounded by extreme homophobia and prejudice.

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

One Hundred Years of Solitude

An ambitious mini-series that succeeds in adapting the classic magic realist novel

8.0

Black Doves

A tale of espionage, romance, and friendship all tied in a neat bow, just in time for Christmas

8.1

Ethos

A level of attention to aesthetics usually reserved for the most elaborate films, mixed with a complex and relevant story, make this series from Turkey unmatched in its quality

9.9

Caliphate

A psychological thriller that provides insight on what drove so many young people to ISIS.

8.9

Say Nothing

A powerful take on the Northern Ireland conflict that smartly shows all sides

8.5

Occupied

Norway's most expensive show ever is a timely thrill ride with a grim geopolitical premise.

8.7

Unorthodox

A well-acted fact-based thriller about untangling the grip of a close-knit community

8.5

Escape at Dannemora

Based on a true prison escape story, this slow-burn suspense thriller features once-in-a-lifetime performances by a star-studded cast

9.3

The Sticky

Margo Martindale stands out in this true-story-based Canadian maple syrup heist

7.1

The Looming Tower

A well-written thriller miniseries about the rivalry between the CIA and the FBI and how they failed to prevent 9/11.

8.1

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.