Dancing on the Edge is a British mini-series from 2013. Set in 1930s London, the series is about a black jazz band that becomes entangled in the aristocratic world of London.
Chiwetel Ejiofor plays suave and sophisticated Louis Lester. He reminded me of Duke Ellington – handsome, unflappable, dressed to the nines. When his band hired two female singers, they became popular and found a regular gig in a posh London hotel.
There are 6 episodes in the series. I enjoyed the first 2 very much. As the series went on, the episodes grew stranger and stranger. The final episode was a bit bizarre. It was as if the first 5 episodes were merely gaslighting the viewers into one way of thinking, and the last turned everything on its head.
I watched it all, obviously. But I had to watch the final episode 2 times because I slept through most of it the first time. Everything was all over by the end of episode 5. The murderer revealed. The handsome black suspect escaped safely to France. Episode 6 was an interview with Louis Lester, which took place before most of the exciting action and which painted everything in a different light. Was it a crime of passion or a vast conspiracy?
I started the series really liking it, but I liked it less as it went on. I didn’t dislike it – I did keep watching. But it lost the edge, the hook, that it started with. I felt it fizzled away at the end. I suspect the filmmaker thought he was doing something exciting and experimental, but it didn’t quite work for me.
There were many characters in this drama. The band members, except for the two women singers, were just there – instruments without lines.
Matthew Goode played Stanley, a magazine editor who promoted the Louis Lester Band and helped them in numerous ways.
As the series went on, characters you thought you had figured out would mysteriously change. There were odd betrayals and character reversals. Everyone seemed to be an untrustworthy narrator. English restraint was everywhere – especially in the pace of the dialog and action (what there was of it).
Joanna Vanderham, Janet Montgomery, Jenna Coleman, Anthony Head, Allan Corduner, John Goodman, Tom Hughes, and Jacqueline Bisset played prominent characters.
The series won several awards, including a Golden Globe for Jacqueline Bisset, a BAFTA for sound mixing, and a couple of best actor awards for Chiwetel Ejiofor. I thought the costumes and the cinematography were outstanding.
Dancing on the Edge was written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff.
The series is available on Netflix and iTunes.
Watch the trailer for Dancing on the Edge
The series played in the US on Starz.
Have you seen Dancing on the Edge? I’d love to hear your thoughts about it.
I haven’t seen it yet, Virginia—summer is a crazy busy time for me! I’ll put it on the burner for fall. As I’ve said many times, I’m so happy to see films and series from earlier eras. I can relate to them so much better!