Dirty Business - I think we all know that we were sold down the river when Thatcher privatised the water companies, and how badly we have been swindled, but I defy anyone to watch this docudrama and not be horrified and seething with fury about just how badly this basic human and environmental need has been managed by everyone involved. The three part series takes a good look at some tragic human stories of how contaminated water has caused death, illness, and ongoing ecological disaster. Alongside these, we see the real life data and sleuthing heroes Ashley Smith (David Thewlis) and Peter Hammond (Jason Watkins) digging up the dirt, doing analysis that no-one else was, to show what the companies and regulators had been up to. Shocking - watch it then write to your MP at the very least, although I feel like getting out the pitchforks and marching down to Thames Water HQ. Doing a similar job as Mr Bates vs The Post Office last year, this is important telly. (Series, Channel4)
what a lovely 3 hours of television. Mackenzie Crook has taken the magic of The Detectorists and magicked it up a bit more. Gentle comedy doesn’t cover it, neither does whimsy, but it is adjacent to those things, mixed with a tough underbelly. Michael’s girlfriend disappeared seven years ago without a trace and his home looks like a hoarder's paradise. Michael (Pearce Quigly) is quietly funny and although he is gentle, he is also standoffish and disruptive, constantly undermining any kind of authority around him. A developing friendship with Kacey (Lauren Patel) helps him open up, after she finds out about his magical special project. Michael Palin is great as Michaels dad, the one who gives him the idea for getting the answers he is after. (
Series, iplayer/BBC)
Bridgerton Season 4 - After feeling a bit lukewarm about part 1 of this season, part 2 did pick up a bit, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the romance heated up somewhat, and we got a nicely understated coming out scene. Secondly Jonathan Bailey was back very briefly, and he added some much needed energy whenever he appeared (far too infrequently). We also got some resolution to some of the drama set up in the first half. Most of it I didn't care about so it was good to get out of the way before we were plunged into more dramas. I'm not a fan of unequal power dynamics in romance (tends to give me the ick) but the central Cinderella romance was sweet enough, and there were a couple of Bridgerton style sex scenes which were fairly raunchy but I think undercut by the music which made them seem sweeter than they actually were. Also, I think Heated Rivalry has spoiled this for me too. The intrigue to get the maid accepted as a lady was entertaining and generally loose ends were suitably tied up. All of the actors are doing good jobs, and the music and costume is still fabulous - I was admiring some of the colour themes chosen for certain scenes, costume and set, and trying to guess how much of the budget went into them - quite a bit I would guess. Overall though, I can’t decide whether this has just become overcome with its own beauty and decorum and forgotten about the edge that made the early series stand out or is it just that I have moved on?
Want a metaphor about where anti-intellectualism, populism and letting the arrogant get away with stuff, you’ll find it here, not to mention the dissection of toxic masculinity. In this world you certainly don’t want to be intellectual, different or ‘weak’. The stranded boys pile bad idea on top of bad idea rather than listening to 'Piggy' or Ralph. The series takes one character in each episode, starting with Piggy, so that we see the rational response and its gradual collapse. Written by Jack Thorne (Adolescence), this is very self consciously high art, rich cinematography with saturated colours, an evocative soundtrack and really cleverly managed gorgeous imagery of the wonders and terrors of the nature that surrounds them, although because it shows without telling all the way through it becomes a bit difficult to keep watching. The script, particularly the dialogue, felt a bit underwritten to me though. The young actors in this are all amazing by the way, even the little'uns, but the leads (David McKenna as Piggy, Winston Sawyers as Ralph, Lox Pratt as Jack and Ike Talbut as Simon) are all fantastic. I think the trouble with this work in general is that we don't get any hope, and that applies to this production too. Although I do admire how beautifully it is put together I find it just so deeply depressing - I don’t want to accept that this is what people, particularly men, are all really like when given the opportunity. Interestingly I read an article this week about a real life case of stranded boys - the real life was far more positive - they managed to organise themselves well and survive, giving me a glimmer of hope for humanity (
Series, BBC and iplayer)
The Night Manager Series 2 - Well I finally finished this series. The last episode was absolutely action packed and I admire the commitment to making sure there was a significant body count at the end. I love the dynamic between Hugh Laurie (Roper) and Tom Hiddleston (Jonathon Pine), both really meaty actors, particularly whenever they go head to head. What I did find frustrating was Teddy's relationship with Pine, which was all longing and no action, despite the sultryness of the love triangle. The fallout from that was that I found it difficult to believe how far he was going to be prepared to go. Despite my misgivings, I did give out a 'Nooooo' at the relevant moment, even though we could all see where it was going to end. This is classy telly, and I will probably be watching series 3, just to see if anyone else is going to be resurrected. (
Series, BBC, iplayer)
The Muppets 2026 - a trip down memory lane in a anniversary special, with Sabrina Carpenter as the guest, being viewed with suspicion and jealousy by Miss Piggy, and backstage chaos just like the old days. Seth Rogen (Executive Producer) and Maya Rudolph both made me laugh a bit, Rogan trying to keep things 'canon’. It was a bit naff but I remember the original series being a bit like that. It was lovely to see the old favourites, even if some of the voices had changed a bit. This appears in a changed, and a lot more cynical world, and I am not sure whether it has enough oomph to be properly reinvigorated, although I would happily give it the screen time. (
Special, Disney+)
Deliver me from Nowhere - This Springsteen biopic examines a tiny slice of time after the success of
The River up to the release of the
Nebraska album. As a very longtime fan of the Boss I was a bit twitchy about how this portrayal would go. Jeremy Allen White plays Springsteen, and in stage performance he is close but not quite hitting the spot for me. But, that aside, this develops from something a bit generic to something more interesting, as Springsteen tries to deal with his past, his fame and his feelings whilst writing an album personal to him but that makes no sense to the people around him. The second half of this was really well done, and as we weren’t dealing with stage Springsteen anymore the portrayal made sense. The film charts Springsteens challenges with his mental health at this period, burned out and creatively dry, taking a completely different and non-commercial detour as he struggles to find a way through.
Born in the USA was written at this time too, although it was released until later, and its a good reminder that the same bleakness and anger of Nebraska is still in that mega-smash album too. With Stephen Graham as his father, and Jeremy Strong as Jon Landau, Springsteen’s long time friend and manager, I had trouble with replacing the real versions with these iterations in my head, but once I let that go, it absolutely worked. (
Film, streaming on Disney+)
Sentimental Value - In this film by Joachim Triers, Stellan Skarsgård plays Gustav Borg a self important auteur director who is honoured with retrospectives but has his best years behind him. Borg has two daughters, one was a child star in one of his films whilst Nora, his older daughter is an actress playing Chekov, but clearly with depression and anxiety and a very complicated personal life. After his ex wife dies, Gustav reappears in his daughters lives, and tries to make a film in the old family home where his own mother killed herself , undercutting his daughters plans to move on. Renate Reinsve as Nora and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as Agnes are great and their relationship is my favourite part of this film. This is all set to be a whipsmart comedy about film making and there is some of that; Elle Fanning is great as the American actress wanting to work with a great director, but in the end she is too smart for him and the part. Stellan Skarsgård plays the great director, now past his prime, really beautifully, both self obsessed and manipulative. I loved the way he is insistent on a particular cinematographer until he finds out how decrepit he is when the old friend is uncermoniously dumped. Skarsgård is getting a lot of praise for his performance and it is deserved. However, the clue is in the title in that, despite its cleverness in some ways is, this is a family story at its heart. The sharp jibes to the film industry raised some wry smiles from me but at its heart this is a sentimental drama-comedy, giving a bit of heartwarming redemption by the end (with a really nice twist) and there’s nothing wrong with that (
Film, streaming on Mubi)
The Thing with Feathers - This is a family drama with Benedict Cumberbatch as a bereaved father looking after his two sons as he grieves the death of his wife. There’s a horror sensibility to this as an enormous scary crow takes up residence with the family. It makes sense as an effective way of illustrating grief and mental illness, but I found it quite hard going, mainly because horror isn’t a genre I enjoy, and that, associated with the bleakness of it all meant I found it hard to find a way in although we all got there to a decent payoff in the end. (Film, streaming on Prime/BFI Player)
Run Lola Run - an old film from 1999 but still loads of fun with its hip gamer vibe, filmed around the streets of Berlin. Lola’s boyfriend has got himself into trouble with local thugs and Lola has 20 minutes to get to him and save him. She fails, despite running all the way there, but then just restarts and tries it again. With animation and a driving German techno music beat, Lola with her red hair looks exactly right as the main player character in this game/film herself, and it all adds to a fantastic dynamic - fast moving, funny, and I love the tiny details making a difference each time she reboots. It’s short and available on Prime - take the opportunity to catch this little gem while you can. (
Film, streaming on Prime)
Manchester by the Sea. I saw this when it first came out but fancied putting myself through the wringer again for some reason. It's a thoughtful and quietly devastating story about grief, family, love and all sorts of other things. Although it is bleak, it’s also quietly funny too, and I love Lucas Hedges as Patrick, a typical teenage boy even whilst grieving. Casey Affleck is lowkey perfect as the self punishing loner who becomes Patrick’s guardian after their brother/father dies I had forgotten how beautiful the cinematography is of this, cool, stark, but gorgeous looking. And Michelle Williams is also excellent as Lee’s ex wife. It’s still beautiful but it will be a while before I want to put myself through that particular wringer again (
Film, streaming on Netflix)
Comments
Post a Comment