Review by C.J. Bunce
What prompted wealthy magnate Jack Wright to change his will then promptly kill himself? Was it blackmail? Or was he murdered? Leaving behind two ex-wives, a young current wife and lots of children and grandchildren, Wright’s life was a bit of a mess. The new BritBox series I, Jack Wright is a modern-day twist on the classic chaotic story centering on execution of a will, probably first made famous by Charles Dickens in Bleak House. The characters in this story are certainly in their own bleak way, but director Tom Vaughan and writer and Unforgotten creator Chris Lang know how to rev up the mystery and so far are using their six episodes to maximum effect. Plenty of intrigue can be found here, a story bookended by snippets from interviews with the key players a few years after the death of Jack Wright and the main action of the story. With an all-star British cast including John Simm, Gemma Jones, Zoe Tapper, Harry Lloyd, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, and Nikki Amuka-Bird, the first three episodes of I, Jack Wright are now streaming on BritBox via Prime Video.
A Discovery of Witches’ actor Trevor Eve plays the family patriarch–briefly. Nikki Amuka-Bird takes the lead role of this story as third wife Sally Wright. When the will is read, a will she saw written, she learns she inherits basically nothing to continue her high lifestyle, her son gets nothing, too, but her daughter is left a million pounds. Why? Jack’s first wife, played by Gemma Jones, is dying of cancer, and maintained a civil relationship since her divorce. She gets a good inheritance, too. But Jack’s two elder sons don’t fare well either.
Son Gray, played by Doctor Who and Life on Mars star John Simm, gets bupkis. Gray is a gambler and a loser by all counts, repeatedly beaten up by loan sharks, always drinking and doing drugs, always begging family for money and blaming everyone but himself for his plight. Brother John, played by the versatile Daniel Rigby, got nothing either, and worse for him–his expected climb up the corporate ladder at the family corporation to CEO is cut short when we learn where all the money does end up.
It turns out Gray’s young entrepreneurial daughter Emily Wright gets most of the money and top job at the company. Emily is played by Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, daughter of actor and director Andy Serkis. It’s a great opportunity to showcase her talents, and so far she’s up to the task, spinning her relatives in a charismatic and likeable way. But what secrets does she hide? She has a business partner and fiancé, along with another man behind the scenes. Emily and uncle John, who seems to be the only good guy outside of Jack’s first wife, have some chemistry. John is ready to accept his lot, and wants to embrace the new direction of his life, but brother Gray and his wife aren’t going to let that happen.
John’s wife is played by Simm’s Grace co-star Zöe Tapper, who revs up her vile side for this role. But the story isn’t entirely driven by the family in-fighting. The best component of the story is Counterpart, Legion, Doctor Who, and The Lost King’s Harry Lloyd as the man responsible for figuring out this mystery, DCI Hector Morgan. His take is a great twist on the modern British detective, smart, likeable, and devoid of personal problems he lets get in the way of his job. Hijack’s Liz Kingsman plays Morgan’s lieutenant in all the sleuthing, DC Katie Jones.
Fans of John Simm will love seeing more of Simm’s frenetic characterizations, while Daniel Rigby is perfectly cast here, appearing like he’s ready to explode as his world crumbles around him.
Will we ever learn what happened to Jack’s second wife and his daughter? Or are these just distractions, red herrings to keep us from the real story? Find out along with everyone else as three more episodes arrive. Until then catch the first three episodes of I, Jack Wright, good British mystery TV now streaming on BritBox via Prime Video.
