Arthur & George

It is 1906 and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's wife has died.  Guilt-ridden and suffering writer's block, a packet arrives from George Edalji.  George claims to have been wrongly convicted of maiming animals, a crime for which he spent 3 years in prison.  Educated to be a solicitor, Edalji's criminal history has barred him from pursuing his chosen career.  Of note, George is half-Scottish and half-Indian.  His father is an Anglican Minister in Great Wyrley.  Like Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle accepts the case and starts an investigation.  Arthur's manservant, Alfred "Woody" Wood, serves as a most effective Doctor Watson.  Though based on a true story, liberties are taken to provide some excitement.

George (Arsher Ali) is a peculiar fellow who seems determined to undermine Doyle's investigation.  At each turn, George shows up and thus ruins any alibi he might have regarding a resurgence of troubles.  Considering how we are told that he is clever and well-educated, he proves to be abysmally dim.  Arthur (Martin Clunes) is fun from start to finish.  He had a long platonic relationship with the woman who would become his second wife while his first was dying of tuberculosis.  Thus his crusade to clear Edalji's name serves as a way to make amends for the infidelity of his heart.  Woody (Charles Edwards) serves as a sounding board for Doyle's theories on the case, often providing the voice of opposition.

 

It is entertaining but far too neatly concluded.  In the wake of Edalji's incarceration, the crimes he 'committed' stopped.  The guilty were free but, oddly, decided to restart the crime spree when Sir Arthur came investigating.  It is much easier to investigate fresh crimes than 4 year old ones.  The comparatively young villain is somehow unable to outrun a pair of middle aged men and a man with a pronounced limp.  When caught, he offers an explanation for why he did the foul deed and promptly dies a gruesome death.  As such, the investigation mostly detracted from the more interesting personal story of Sir Arthur and his factual actions in clearing Edalji.  In the wake of Edalji's exoneration, the Court of Criminal Appeal was established.  Now there is an accomplishment for Sir Arthur.