March TV and Film

Adolescence (Series, streaming on Netflix).  This one made a huge splash but luckily I saw it early on so didn’t know what to expect.  I wanted to watch because of Stephen Graham’s involvement and it definitely delivered.  Each episode was one take, following the arrest of Jamie, a 13 year old boy accused of the murder of Katie a girl at his school.  The young actor playing Jamie (Owen Cooper) is amazing, particularly in the long scene in episode 3 with the psychologist (Erin Doherty - who is also stunning).  But every actor in this is bringing their A game.  Over four episodes we see the arrest, then the investigation which shows a pretty depressing but what felt realistic depiction of teenage lives lived half on line, and with uncomprehending adults missing what is under their noses.  It’s particularly focusing on misogyny and toxic masculinity, alongside a clear eyed look at the gulf between parents and children, failures of parenting, fathers and sons, and the pressures on young men and women.  There’s not much focus on the victim and that has been criticised, a lot of people seem to think that Katie is being victim blamed but what we can see instead is the cycle of hate caused by misogyny as her ‘bullying’ is responding to the treatment she has received from the boys who have both a sense of entitlement and inadequacy. The whole thing is desperately sad. Amazing television for the message, but also for the virtuoso cinematography and acting to get one take for each episode, each one performed as if it was a play,  so no stopping for mistakes.  Episode 3 is definitely my favourite for the acting but every scene in every episode was there for a purpose.  I pity anything else going up against this in the awards next year - this deserves them all. 

The Studio. (Series, streaming on AppleTV+)  Only two episodes in to Seth Rogan’s fast paced farce about Hollywood but it is working out well so far. It’s in the tradition of Extras in that each episode has real actors and directors playing very funny versions of themselves. Like Adolescence it makes loads of use of one shot scenes, and in particular I enjoyed the one shot scene being filmed within the one shot second episode.  Virtuoso stuff, and great to see some of the live energy of theatre being brought back into film and tv, I suppose facilitated by the new, more flexible, camera tech. The ideas in here are not new, the tension between art and making money, the way that everyone wants something from their new studio boss, and the high ideals ending in the gutter every time.  But this is so well executed by the amazing cast including Bryan Cranston as the philistine money driven boss, Catherine O’Hara as the studio head ousted for focusing on art not money, replaced by Seth Rogan’s character who spends each episode trying and failing to be true to his principles. Kathryn Hahn is another very funny regular whilst others such as Steve Buscemi, Marin Scorsese, Greta Lee and so many more turn up for single episodes, all perfectly pitched and very, very funny.  Each episode so far a classic, fast-paced unravelling farce, I am looking forward to more. 

Prime Target (Series, streaming on AppleTV+) finished the season, and as I suspected the digital apocalypse was avoided but with strange out of character behaviour for our lead, and then an ending which wasn't really an ending and makes me think they are going for another series.  Enjoyable hokum if you can get past wondering about the real science and formulas.

Toxic Town (Limited series streaming on Netflix). Well made if slightly formulaic docu-drama about the poisoning from the old steelworks that damaged babies in the womb, showing the venality, corruption and casual disregarding of safety principles, together with the campaign which led to the eventual uncovering.  I was shocked to see though that before 2010 and this case, it had never been settled law that airborne pollution could cause harm to unborn children.

Severance (Series 2, streaming on Netflix) Series two finished its weekly release cycle with a fabulous final episode which looked amazing, was fast paced, dramatic but also made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion - Gwendoline Christie was absolutely pitch perfect - it's making me smile just remembering her scenes.  And then the incongruous marching band - genius!  I have spent much of this series searching for explanations on the internet as it is so twisty-turny and complicated, but it hasn't stopped me enjoying this beautifully crafted, silly but serious show.  It's been recommissioned and I am looking forward to the many hours on the internet, searching for 'what was Severance episode xx about?...'

Sing Sing (Film streaming on Prime).  This is an uplifting drama about a theatre group in Sing Sing prison.  Based on the real Rehabilitation through the Arts programme, with the exception of Coleman Domingo, many of the actors in the film were imprisoned, went through the programme and play version of themselves they were when going through the programme. Inspiring, and in these times when the discourse about prison seems to be all about punishment and longer and longer sentences, it’s nice to remember that there is another purpose too, that rehabilitation can work and art and theatre is a force for good.

Lucky Grandma (Film, streaming on Mubi) I watched this as part of a season on womens’s action movies.  This is a caper based around the character of Grandma, a tough 80 year old Chinese American woman, whose trip to Altantic City to make her fortune does bear fruit but not in the way she expects and she finds herself pursued by mob members looking for their cash.  Silly, with references to many caper tropes, what sets it apart really is the performance of Tsai Chin as Grandma, who is dogged and bloody minded, never without a cigarette in her mouth. Set in Chinatown, New York, there’s a great sense of place in this too.  Small but entertaining (and only 88 minutes long).

Igby Goes Down (Film, streaming on Prime) I haven’t seen this for years and so when it popped up on streaming I was interested to take a look back at Kieran Culkin as a young actor playing (surprise surprise) a rich dysfunctional young man behaving badly, surrounded by a lots of other rich dysfunctional people behaving badly.  New York looks gorgeous with a grungy edge and the film is pretty self consciously going for indie coolness in its darkly comic and cynical take on misery and tragedy, and with Catcher in the Rye vibes. Despite its flaws, I still enjoyed taking a little trip back in history with an amazing cast and a fabulous soundtrack.