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matthewferg
Reviews
The Messenger (2023)
Engaging performances, but frustratingly inconsistent in tone
I came across this show following Will McKenna's impressive turn in Queen of Oz, and expected fully for his character to be the one I identified most with. The performances of the main cast were so enthralling overall that it is nigh-on impossible not to find yourself relating to each one of them by the time the eight outings are up. A sign of a series with strong characterisation is one in which you can root for not just one but multiple characters and critique them for their flaws, helped by their being portrayed so convincingly. Kartanya Maynard in particular, who also featured in the brilliant Deadloch, shines brightly during the series and is destined for great things. Maggie Dence, as well, is exceptional. I found myself often rewinding the programme to fully bask the power of each cast member's portrayal and any nuances they injected into their characters that I may have missed, appreciating their committal to those they were responsible for inhabiting, and their dedication to delivering such compelling performances, more and more in the process.
Being so engrossed and enraptured by the series means its flaws are more frustrating than deserving of being pointed out maliciously or with any degree of mockery. The series' first and last few episodes are brilliant, with taut writing that ensures you keep watching (the second and sixth episodes, with special mention also going to the eighth, are some of the best pieces of television I've watched in some time). It's just a shame the drama, and the sheer intensity of it, that powers the series' first two episodes - and creates their urgent, 'must-watch' nature - dissipates as it approaches the halfway mark, and consequently the show finds itself in a position of unintentionally convincing viewers to lose the drive to continue with it; the third and fourth episodes feature stories that are comparatively less dramatic than the opening couple episodes - humdrum to the point of feeling like a midseason US drama with a constant air of 'this won't survive its run' - and therefore unhelpfully provide viewers with a sense the rest of the series won't live up to its captivatingly intense start.
Viewers are handsomely rewarded by sticking with it, though, and are quickly sucked back in as the series steps up a gear in its final half; however, the satisfaction that comes from the series' general narrative, and the lessons it wants those watching to take from it, coming into view is affected by the time it takes to get to that point - although I can appreciate if that was a deliberate attempt by the writers, as it also reflects how long it takes for the characters to learn those same lessons, accept how they need to change as a result, and ensure the series concludes satisfyingly. As the show is based on a novel intended for young adults (disclaimer: which I haven't read), it also leads to, on occasions, the show's intended message being delivered in a somewhat simplistic and reductionist manner - and causes it to drag or feel consistently underpowered in places, as if the show can't go full pelt in what it might want to do for fear of going beyond what may be appropriate for such an audience - but this is never achieved in a way that insults audients of any age.
While I'd welcome for more tales coming from the series, the disappointing ratings alone probably mean I shouldn't get my hopes up. I'm not sure it needs to continue - especially if there's no source material to draw from that means the story may not be open to or supportive of another series, and so may not live up to its first. The eight episodes given to us were, on the whole, great, both heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure, life-affirming and imbued appreciated introspection in those who have experienced similar things to the characters; more would be desirable if I could be sure another go-around is as nuanced and engaging, as by the end I was already regretting the prospect of closing the door on these characters, and actually find myself missing spending time with them.
Renfield (2023)
Thoroughly enjoyable watch, if lacking in depth
I really wanted to give this an 8, but I'm not sure whether it deserves it. Yes, the film was an enthralling watch, enjoyable and sprinkled pathos and comedy just enough throughout. Yet I feel as if the film lacked a sense of oomph, a sense of depth, that would otherwise have coursed through it and kept us more captivated, and that it didn't really fully do justice to making sure the two different storylines which later converged did so in a less contrived manner.
The storylines of Renfield and Rebecca Quincy, Awkwafina's character, met and intertwined a bit too sweetly looking back on it, and Dracula's intervention in it came a little early/soon for my liking. A longer runtime could've helped with a greater build-up, and a more subtle weaving together of the two storylines (although this could've had a contrary effect of giving more scenes to the character of Quincy with no obvious link to the character of Renfield, and coming across incongruous as a result). The Quincy storyline didn't really convince us that it couldn't have been substituted with something else, and consequently was a little uninspired and on some levels doesn't really convince you to invest yourself more than partially so into hoping the story wraps up satisfyingly. On some occasions, the way the two characters fed off of each other felt like a pilot for a network comedy-drama, with the way the direction of the film changes halfway through giving it in its entirety the vibes of a TV two-parter condensed into one; while I certainly wouldn't be averse to further exploration of the character - especially with Hoult's impressive, engaging, and at times empathetic and relatable, portrayal (which was probably the strongest performance in the whole film, and the reason I went to see it) - I dare say it would be unnecessary and painfully derivative (given the events of the end of the film, which I'm not going to spoil here, meaning uniting against Dracula again would possibly fall into this).
The performances were on the whole engrossing and mostly convincing. Nicolas Cage, as others have picked up on, seemed to be underused in the film; as it's based around his eponymous servant, I would think maybe this argument is misplaced, but I see where people are coming from, in that by using Cage's Dracula to the extent they did, they left viewers wanting more, whereas given the film's focus is on Renfield, perhaps Dracula should've had less of a prominent role, so Cage would be reduced, albeit more appropriately, to more of a supporting role and his appearances potentially more stronger, threatening and forceful in the process (similar to how the shark in Jaws deliberately only appeared in short bursts to keep the suspense up; although with someone like Cage in the portrayal, this could've been tricky to pull off.) Unless it's just simply the case that the character of Renfield can't really carry a film sufficiently without his master having a substantial part... Some of the supporting characters did occasionally seem a tad underdeveloped, under-fleshed out, but nevertheless this didn't really distract. Cage's dialogue was also a little hard to understand at times.
Overall, it's a good and interesting take on the character of Renfield, with the positioning of him as being in a co-dependent relationship something new and fresh - at least as far as I know - in the many interpretations of the story - which was part of the reason I wanted to see the film in the first place. I didn't come out of the cinema disappointed at all, and as long as you're not after a deep, psychological analysis of the character, you don't mind gore and violence, nor a story that's kinda underpowered and rushes sometimes too quickly between successive plot points (creating a part-gaping hole where character development could've been), I doubt you will be too. Just don't take it too seriously.
Tell Me Everything (2022)
A superb cast and excellent script, for a powerful and visceral, yet understated, slow-burner.
When I say this show is not like any other teen, or young adult, drama that's gone before I mean it. This show does something which sets it apart from others, in that it is not unwilling to perform a deep dive into the mental state of its characters, and bring it to the fore. While there are the usual YA tropes in the show (stress over academic performance, rebellion through parties, raves and drugs, dysfunctional family relationships), it deals with them with a competent respect to the mental deliberations that influence them, with a high quality for the understatement throughout the show, letting things develop without being overly brash or yearning to constantly be explosive.
Over the course of the six episodes, the focus does drift away from Jonny, whose grief and long-term battle with depression sets the stage in an impressive opening episode, onto other members of the main ensemble, with each having their personal and private lives explored one episode by one. While this does lead to certain characters perhaps feeling a little squeezed as the series reaches its conclusion, motivation is never wholly lost and the way in which their lives are displayed as being intrinsically interweaved with others means that there is little feeling that anything is being rushed or on screen for the sake of it.
The show isn't perfect, and does wobble in the penultimate two episodes as the series attempts to bring the themes that have run through it together in a way that is more obvious to the audience - without as subtle scripting of the grand narrative - yet the show treats its audience with respect in how it communicates the message. Never is it overly simplistic in some desperation for viewers to understand or interpret it, and the final episode simultaneously wraps up the six episodes' stories neatly while tantalisingly teasing at what might come.
Tell Me Everything presents a grown-up and shrewd depiction of mental health among young people, and the cognitive dissonance between its raw and brutal manifestations and the more quiet, complentative moments never gets too much that the show is achingly uneven. No character is ever completely a villain, nor completely squeaky-clean, which leads to the show becoming even more captivating and engrossing, to understand the nuances that take place into understanding why a character is behaving, and being treated by others, in such a way. Audiences may have an appetite for some characters to be punished for their actions more pointedly, yet they are introduced in a fashion that means we can understand and relate to them, rather than react in a knee-jerk way.
The creative decision for Jonny's scenes to be narrated by the character, and the way in which the character is on occassion surreally shown as alone in a packed environment, are written with aplomb, and are part of how the show displays Davies' intense, realistic, and believable skills as a performer. The other members of the ensemble portray their characters convincingly too; as someone who can relate to quite a few of the characters in the show, Jonny with mental health difficulties, Louis with social awkwardness, and Neve's push for academic greatness, their adeptness at inhabiting their characters come across even more exemplarily, and you find yourself wanting to spend a lot more time with the characters once the six episodes are up. The show does an excellent job at ending the series in a satisfying way, but with enough threads hanging to suggest an intense, and jam-packed, potential for another run. Whether or not it does enough to gain another series is up for questioning, given the arguably weak position ITVX and ITV2 are in trying to compete for eyeballs, but in no way has this series fallen into the trap of worrying about that.
Tell Me Everything: Episode #1.1 (2022)
Raw, brutal, haunting, and honest portrayal of mental illness and grief
What this episode does is something groundbreaking and completely new to British television, which is only just starting to deal with and showcase the crisis in mental health across all ages, yet particularly among young people. An introspective dive into the mind and mental traumas of Jonny, a 16-year-old lad trying to keep everything together for the sake of his family and friends, combined with the excellently-scripted accompanied narration of the series by him, showcasing what he goes through, utilising logic and reason to sort out and attempt to understand and control his emotions and feelings. The main arc is that no-one can find out how low he's been for the previous few months, and that he spent his summer in bed feeling unable to step outside; his dad passing away - the only one who was aware of what he was going through - steps up the pressure on him to act as normal as possible (when normal has, unfortunately, been comprehensively defenestrated) and keep up the façade and artifice of always being 'OK' and 'fine'. This exacerbates matters with explosive consequences as his inability to control himself gains supremacy over his carefully-crafted deployment of inhibitions, as he begins to mix with a tantalisingly mysterious new girl named Mei that inveigles her way, with subtle hints of manipulative tendencies, into his circle of peers, through a shared bond with Jonny of both of them 'being a mess' that, below the surface, is somewhat disingenuous - but we don't learn in this first 45 minutes how much.
As reviewed elsewhere, Davies is a superb performer - remarkable considering this is his first acting role - with excellent characterisation of the pained Jonny that only expands how engrossing a watch this episode is - in some parts outperforming the more seasoned adult members of the cast, although they are left with smaller roles than they will probably receive in further episodes - and proves O'Sullivan's talent as a writer to be able to pivot from a sitcom to something as relatively deeply layered as this. An almost-literal cliffhanger scene is brilliantly harrowing, even if slightly undermined by some obvious CGI. Beautifully shot and written, with specific praise going to the scenes in which Jonny finds himself alone, sometimes with Mei to highlight how she is the only one anywhere who understands and relates to him - as if she is a form of guardian angel - and the genuine, unalloyed shock value of the revelation coming right at the end of the episode. It would be also neglectful to mention the performances of the other members of the main, young, ensemble, in particular Fearn, Ajufo and Liang, who portray their characters convincingly, if they're a little under-fleshed-out at this point (but would be insulting to deem them more akin to convenient/token sidekicks). Also worth commending is the ability for O'Sullivan to create such a detestable character in Jonny's brother Andrew, who doesn't say and do much but doesn't have to in order to make you instantly dislike him.
The show does engage in tropes that would be expected of a teen/YA drama - and there are moments that are a bit cringy if you're even a couple of years beyond the target audience like me - but sprinkles them through sparsely enough that it doesn't come across like a carbon copy of any similar drama that's come before. A captivating first episode that hooks you into the series, that deserves more plaudits than some random guy like me leaving a review. If this is a sign of what type of scripted content ITV2 (which will eventually air the series probably in summer; at the moment it's an ITVX-exclusive) will play host to, or what type of television will be produced for younger audiences, going forward, it's a very promising start.