Far too much telly already

Those dead days after Christmas and into the new year have left me with time on my hands.  I'd usually be reading a lot, but I'm a bit stuck on my current read, and so found myself drifting to the telly instead.  It's a bit scary to think about how many hours I have probably clocked this week.

Mayflies

A very non-celebratory first watch of the year goes to this two part drama on iplayer. The first episode opens with Tully (Tony Curran) telling his longstanding best friend, Jimmy (Martin Compston) that he has months to live, and then, relying on friendship forged as teenagers, makes him promise that he will get him to Switzerland in time. So, not a particularly cheery start but we are soon in a nostalgic hymn to youth, life, death and friendship, illustrated with instamatic colours, The Fall, New Order and riot police.  I found it all pretty moving, probably because I am a sucker for nostalgia and this has it in spades.

The second episode gives us revelations on what actually happened in that trip to Manchester in the eighties, and gets a bit bleak. It turns into a bit of a debate about the value of medical intervention, the morality of assisted death, and a touch of 'whose death is it anyway'.  I found part 2 less moving than the first, maybe because of that debate, or maybe because I also felt a bit manipulated with all of the 'last' things going on.. That might just be me though and overall this is a pretty thoughtful piece.

The flashbacks look gorgeous, and it definitely delivers on that kicker that you will never again be that teenager, and life is short. The youthful friendships are pretty well drawn; the young versions of Tully (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Jimmy (Rian Gordon) are excellent and I wanted to see more of them and their friendship group. Martin Compston is also interesting here, really controlled and understated, although there was a bit of glasses acting that made me sigh a little.

Worth a look if you have something cheery lined up afterwards!

Feel Good

This has been on my watch list for ages (or since the first series came out in 2021) and after slotting in an episode every day or two over the past few weeks, I finally finished the last couple of episodes of the second series.  Written by and starring Mae Martin (playing a version of themselves) with Charlotte Ritchie as the straight seeming girl coming to terms with herself, this is thoughtful and a bit bruising in places, particularly regarding Mae's traumatic history.  Series 1 aired on Ch4 first, but series 2 was picked up by Netflix.  Tackling dark topics including addiction, PTSD and sexual trauma more explicitly in the second series, it never lets it become overwhelming, and at its heart it stays a sweet and thoughtful rom com, with probably more rom than com overall, although it had some good laugh out loud moments too.  Loved Lisa Kudrow as Mae's mum.    If I hadn't seen Heartstopper first I might have found this more ground-breaking than I did, as it is in a similar sort of space, tackling difficult issues with lightness of touch and brilliant performances.  So well worth a watch.  

Good Luck to you, Leo Grande

Browsing the streaming services after finishing the last episode of Feel Good, I found this film had turned up free on Prime.  It's written by Katy Brand and stars Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack (I recognised him as the love interest in Bad Sisters) as the client and sex worker.  Sharply written, the action takes place in just two locations, the main one being a hotel bedroom.   As always Thompson is admirable in her performance, this time as a disappointed woman looking for adventure oscillating between middle class brusqueness and gauche inexperience.  McCormack is unfeasibly gorgeous, and subtly uncovers the artifice and hidden insecurities behind the consummately charming professional 'Leo Grande' beautifully.    

The writing was great with some great one and two -liners that also hit the spot for the themes and narrative.   It's billed as a sex comedy in some write ups but despite that great writing and acting I didn't really get that feeling about it, and maybe that's where my reservations come in.... it felt sadder than I was expecting although the ending is suitably uplifting.  By the end I was cheering Emma Thompson  the actor as well as her character and if you've seen it you'll probably know why.     

Slow Horses

I haven't read the books but love a spy thriller and Gary Oldman is an absolute delight in playing the curmudgeonly spy with a far from clean history and with a sharp intelligence under a shambling exterior - a kind of grumpy Columbo.  Kristen Scott-Thomas plays the ethically flexible boss and all of the cast is impressive, making the most of the great writing.  All the characters are flawed of course and although this is standard for the genre, the level to which all of the characters are finely drawn is what makes it such a joy. 

The big cast names are no guarantee of a significant role or even making it to the end of an episode and I love it for that too as it means you can never quite relax.    I did a big sigh in the final episode of this series as I thought they had fallen into the cliché of the baddy taking the time to tell our hero all of their plans but I laughed when that was thrown back in my face. Well played!   Looking forward to the next series. 

Happy Valley

So pleased to see this is back.  Love Sally Wainwright's writing and Sarah Lancashire too.  The key characters are in play already, and they've allowed real time to pass too, which has allowed the relationships to move on a bit.  They are making us wait for each episode so I'll come back to it later, but so far I'm not disappointed.