Based on Joan Hannington’s memoir, “I Am What I Am: The True Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Jewel Thief,” and adapted for television by Anna Symon, The CW‘s “Joan” is a stellar crime series about opportunity, motherhood and the chances we are willing to take to go after the lives we desire. Sharp and slick, Sophie Turner is magnificent as Joan, a young mother desperate to take her life into her own hands. and obtain the lavish social status she has always coveted.
“Joan” begins in 1985 on the Kent Coast, an hour outside London. The audience finds Joan, a 20-something mother, celebrating her birthday in her tiny flat above a Chinese takeout restaurant with her young daughter Kelly (an absolutely precious Mia Millichamp-Long). Unfortunately, their mother/daughter euphoria is short-lived. The next day, Joan is awakened in the middle of the night by gangsters looking for her boyfriend, Gary. Terrified, she grabs Kelly and runs off, desperate to flee whatever wrath Gary has incurred.
Viewers learn more about Joan, her background and her motivations throughout six rapidly paced, fantastic episodes. Having placed her and Kelly’s fate in Gary’s hands for so long, Joan is now determined to control her destiny. Without employment and housing, Joan puts Kelly in foster care for her protection. With her daughter squared away, Joan heads to London to work at her sister Nancy’s (Kirsty J. Curtis) hair salon. Unfortunately, sweeping and shampooing heads doesn’t bring in the income Joan needs to rebuild her life. And Joan and Nancy’s strained relationship — stemming back to their tumultuous childhoods with their abusive father — eventually leads Joan to seek employment elsewhere.
A preoccupation with wealth and a knack for accents leads Joan into the jewelry business. Though she initially finds work as a jeweler’s assistant for the handsy Bernard (Alex Blake), being constantly surrounded by gems and diamonds becomes too enticing to ignore. Joan immediately recognizes a larger opportunity. When she meets Boisie (Frank Dillane), an antique dealer with crafty ways of acquiring unique items, the pair merge their lives romantically and professionally. Turner and Dillane’s magnetic pull toward each other is captured perfectly on screen. A deep understanding and a ribbon of distrust add to their intense chemistry.
Like most British dramas, nothing is wasted in “Joan.” The limited series is nimble and engaging without the superfluous characters and plot points that often clog up American television shows. Feisty and determined to a fault, Joan’s sole focus is getting Kelly back in her care. Despite the threat of volatile characters, including Albie (Gershwyn Eustache Jr.), an associate of Boisie’s, she refuses to let anyone dismiss her or usurp the cons she has so carefully formulated. The 1980s aesthetic around Joan is also richly executed. With hair and makeup by Kaleena Jordan and the incredible costuming by Richard Cook, seeing Turner transform before our very eyes adds to the series’ realism.
Joan’s initial scams are fairly low-stakes. However, as the show continues, things get increasingly dangerous for both her and Boisie. Though Joan makes playing dress-up appear glamorous, a deal in Episode 4 depicts the true strain of the job, stripping down all of the romanticism previously built up in Joan’s world. As euphoric as Joan’s professional wins are, her losses are catastrophic.
“Joan” is fascinating because Turner welcomes the audience into her character’s emotional interior, allowing the viewer to understand how the jewelry thief’s mind works. A natural-born hustler with profound intelligence and an ability to quickly craft together a scheme, viewers watch Joan transform into everyone from a posh British socialite to a dowdy American newspaper reporter. Because the series is so tightly paced, a spectacular tension is woven throughout. Still, the interactions between Joan and Kelly are some of the most effective of the show. The viewer can feel the loving affection and connection between the mother and daughter, making Joan’s shocking choices as horrifying as they are understandable.
While “Joan” is full of twists and turns, the series is, at its core, about what a mother is willing to do to ensure a better future for her child. However, just as much as Joan is driven by her desire to secure a stable life for Kelly, she also becomes obsessed with the power that comes from wealth and deception. In the end, digging herself out of the world she’s created will cost her a great deal more than she expects.
“Joan” premieres Oct. 2 on The CW, with new episodes airing weekly on Wednesdays. The series premiered Sept. 29 on ITV in the U.K.
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