Gentleman Jack premiere review: A different kind of period drama heroine

HBO’s Gentleman Jack uses a conventional format to tell the story of an extremely unconventional woman who was wildly ahead of her time.

If you want confirmation straight out of the gate that Gentleman Jack is not your typical period drama, just listen to the music. The rollicking tune that plays whenever Anne Lister is onscreen should pretty much tell you all you need to know about what kind of story this will be.

This music is certainly not the theme of a typical period drama heroine. There’s no swoony overture, no extended tinkly piano riff, no soft background tones. Instead, the music is brash and jaunty, and always pushing forward, rather than shrinking back or growing quieter. And that’s kind of the character that Anne Lister is too.

Much of the series’ first episode is devoted to exposition and table-setting – introducing us to the main characters, explaining Anne’s recent misfortunes in Hastings, and letting us know just how much she feels she doesn’t fit in her native Halifax.

Suranne Jones does a tremendous job of conveying the struggle of a woman who constantly chafes against the life she’s supposed to live. Her inability to settle, her fascination with things traditionally deemed outside a woman’s sphere, her frustration that even when she finds something to care about, she’s not allowed to keep it. You can almost feel her thinking, at any given hour of the day, how much easier her life would be, if only she were a man.

The things she’s curious about aren’t suitable for a woman of her stature. No well bred lady should be curious about autopsies, negotiate with her own tenants or consider herself an expert on veterinary medicine or roofing. She shouldn’t have romantic relationships with women, and she shouldn’t dress as though she’s five seconds from just giving it all up and putting trousers on. (The sartorial skill in this series is evident in just how much her outfit resembles a man’s suit, despite the fact that there’s technically a skirt involved at all times.)

Suranne Jones – Gentleman Jack (2019). Photo Credit: Matt Squire/HBO

Anne is strong-minded, capable and almost completely fearless, though Jones’ performance hints at a certain loneliness that one hopes future episodes will further explore. She’s got an overwhelming personality and can be a bit of a bully, paying little heed of the feelings of her father, aunt or sister when it comes to her decisions, insisting that she knows best.

She’s not always likable, either. Her disdain for her “shabby” family home of Shibden Hall, her dismissive treatment of an elderly tenant that’s worked her land for years and her frequently rude attitude toward, well, almost everyone, are certainly not the traits of an aspirational period drama heroine.

And yet, she’s riveting, holding your attention every moment that she’s onscreen. Whether Anne’s going toe to toe with a man who doesn’t respect her authority as a landowner, recklessly driving a hansom cab, or arguing about farming statistics, it’s impossible not to root for her to some degree. And the premiere makes sure to give us a handful of vulnerable moments with her as well, as she reminisces over her break-up in Hastings, and explains to a longtime sometime lover that she’ll never be able to marry a man.

Gentleman Jack never sensationalizes Anne’s sexuality, though, a fact that deserves particular praise given that this is, after all, HBO. Instead, it is treated with care, as a part of her character that simply is, no matter how much trouble the fact of it may create in her life. Many of the series’ secondary characters dance around the issue, referring to her simply as odd or different, using euphemisms to refer to the fact that she keeps moving around to be “companions” to other women.

It’s likely that this is an effect of her wealth and noble position in society – a poorer or less influential woman would likely have been treated very differently, and could presumably not have survived the societal scrutiny and gossip. But that doesn’t mean that Anne’s life is easy, as evidenced by the uncomfortable conversation with her sister in which she’s reminded that Halifax is different from Paris, and that her behavior will inevitably draw more (and harsher) attention in their small town.

Yet Anne refuses to become something she is not. She still charges through the village in her strikingly unfeminine attire and eagerly takes over performing a “man’s job” in becoming the rent collector for Shibden Hall. She begins to sketch out an elaborate plan to turn the family property toward mining and, upon meeting rich, isolated heiress Ann Walker, wonders whether she might take a wife as any man in her position would. Said realization occurs right at the episode’s end, which leaves the more tactical issues concerning coal mining and courtship for another time, but it’s interesting to not how straightforward Anne’s thinking on this issue is.

Suranne Jones – Gentleman Jack (2019). Photo Credit: Matt Squire/HBO

Surely, Anne is aware that women marrying other women is not something that happens in England, let alone in her small town of Halifax. (Spoiler alert: She’ll become a trailblazer herself on this point.) And, yet, that seems to be of little consideration when confronted with the fact of Miss Walker’s wealth and obvious fascination with her. Is she merely planning to brazen out the (sure) scandal? Call it something other than a marriage?

For her part, Ann Walker is unfortunately a fairly weakly drawn character at the moment, so it’s hard to judge how she might react to Anne’s affections. We know little about her other than everyone apparently coddles and protects her – she leads an incredibly sheltered life with few friends and little exposure to the outside world. Of course she’s likely to find a woman like Anne – who answers to no one and fears nothing – fascinating, And, to be fair, Sophie Rundle does a lot with the little she’s given to work with, so here’s hoping that with more to do next week Ann will become a more fleshed out character.

And now all that the pieces are in place, let’s see what Gentleman Jack can really do.

Gentleman Jack continues next Monday, April 29 at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.