With a sense of foreboding looming in nearly every scene—none of which linger, every minute of screen time being put to great use—Lord of the Flies by William Golding excels in the television format, and that's evident from only the pilot.
Created by Jack Thorne, this most recent adaptation of William Golding's classic 1954 novel is the first to arrive via television, and it's finally arrived for American audiences via Netflix.
We open the episode with its titular character, Piggy, lying on his back alone in the forest. He picks up his glasses and calls out for help, albeit to no avail. Insects chirp around him, and on top of the fact that he's all alone in a completely foreign location, Piggy's situation is rendered all the more dreadful through a particular mastery of sound design.
Careful camerawork and intriguing jump cuts are also on display to create a creepy atmosphere, with Lord of the Flies by Jack Thorne embracing the darker and more thrilling elements of William Golding's book. There's also some joviality with humorous lines of dialogue, heartfelt moments, and an occasionally upbeat score.
Running a wonderful gamut of emotion, Lord of the Flies should appeal to longtime fans of the story, as well as anyone who may not have indulged in Golding's influential book. The series closely adheres to the hard-hitting themes and motifs that Golding set into place, along with the many character dynamics that make the tale so memorable.
Episode one encompasses the book's first two chapters, with the group deciding on Ralph as their leader after he gathered everyone together with his iconic, symbolic conch shell. The boys then decide on a group to scale a mountain in search for civilization, but they only find the corpse of the pilot who controlled their plane.
Gruesome imagery and themes of religion are at the forefront of that scene, which leads the group to hold another meeting on the beach. There's a fascinating moment between Ralph and Jack as the two are hunting a pig, and it's then that they regroup and rally to build a fire, but it soon gets out of control. This leads to yet another beach meeting, this time orchestrated by Piggy as he uses his friend's conch shell.
Strong elements of symbolism are consistently on display, from the aforementioned conch shell to Piggy's pair of spectacles, not to mention the various forms of wildlife that the boys encounter on the island.
Shining in their respective roles are the trio of leading actors—Winston Sawyers as Ralph, Lox Pratt as Jack, and David McKenna as Piggy—though in full candor, each of the talented child actors shows their on-screen prowess. They make this the most impressive screen retelling of William Golding's masterwork and one of the finest literary adaptations in recent television history.
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