Room at the Top

This two part dramatisation of John Braine's novel about a working class boy on the make lacked subtlety in parts but on the whole was well staged and played by a good cast. Set in a fictional town "up north", Matthew McNulty plays a brainy lad, Joe Lampton, who finds a place at an accountancy firm in the big town in immediately post-war Britain and finds his rugged good looks and down-to-earth manner marking him out for career advancement, as well it seems as with half the womenfolk in the town.

Before long he's fallen hard for an estranged middle-aged married woman he meets at amateur dramatics of all things but finds himself in romantic conflict as the pretty young daughter of a big boss tilts her hat at him. She offers him escape, youth and position, while all the older woman can offer him is her devotion until he's forced to make a choice between the two, which as tragic consequences for one side of the triangle.

The programme pulls no punches in its use of extremely strong language and depiction of the frequent sex-scenes, but both I felt were justified. What I didn't get was the sense that Worley was a big town in relation to Finton, his childhood home, to which Lampton returns for a nostalgic visit just before the end. There are very few external location shots to give the piece a sense of place, you'd only know you're north of Watford by the accents.

The lead roles are mostly played authentically and with conviction. McNulty is fine in the lead role and Maxine Peake too, as Alice, the older woman he picks up and falls for only to discard with tragic consequences when he follows his head and not his heart. Jenna Louise Coleman, however never quite convinces you she's grown out of her little-girl persona, pretty as she is.

The dialogue occasionally suggests too obviously it came from a book but the production doesn't pretend to be anything more than a representation of the book but for a gritty insight into the lives and motives of the postwar generation and particularly returning soldiers like Lampton, it still has a limited relevance today.

This story of a working-class young man in the late 1940s trying to make a life for himself is extremely involving, not least because it's so erotic (mostly because the sex seems so real, which is to say all-consuming and ambivalent at the same time, as is so often the case). If you've ever had any sort of illicit affair, you know the knots you inevitably get tied in, no matter how honestly you try to deal with the situation; this movie touches very keenly on that heartbreak, with great honestly.

Brave work by Maxine Peake, who strips naked in every possible sense as the woman who falls for young Joe in spite of herself. And a terrific performance by Matthew McNulty, who does justice to the many layers of a very subtly drawn character; you can see that canny brain constantly working behind his eyes, assessing every situation for danger or gain. For me, the only weakness here was the casting of Jenna-Louise Coleman as Joe's upper-class girlfriend, Susan; I couldn't quite share his intense attraction to her, so had to take it on faith.

This was compulsive watching, and though the ending will put you through a wringer, very worthwhile. Gold-standard TV drama.

ROOM AT THE TOP, a two-part adaption of John Braine's '50s-set class-based novel, is a splendid example of what the BBC can do when they put their mind to it: that is, the creation of authentic, heartfelt and beautifully realised drama. No surprise, then, that it was hidden away on the schedules (like THE HOUR), banished to a lesser channel while the lunkheaded flagship shows (DOCTOR WHO, anyone?) are given all the money/attention.

Ostensibly, this drama is about a working class young man who struggles to make his mark in society, but in fact it's all about sex. The film concentrates on his relationships with various women, and a love triangle occupies much of the running time. Maxine Peake is the real revelation here, giving a performance so searingly honest that it seethes with a raw power. Jenna-Louise Coleman (TITANIC) doesn't get the opportunity to be more more than an ideal, and Matthew McNulty's lead character actually turns out to be a bit of a bastard, but it's Peake who makes this production shine.

After rediscovering Der Weg nach oben (1958) and discovering Ein Platz ganz oben (1965), the excellent, underappreciated sequel, this fairly recent remake piqued my curiosity. It is nothing if not well acted, and the different take on each character did interest me. But the message of the original films and books is stood on its head. Those were biting social commentary. This remake is mere soap opera.

In the original film's ending, Joe and Susan leave the church after their wedding, chauffeured in a custom Rolls-Royce fit for royalty. But Joe is already getting restless, visibly tiring of Susan's stupid chatter. Joe's future stir-craziness, coming in the sequel, is clearly foreshadowed. In the latter film, the strongest actor is Jenna Coleman, who is incapable of the blandness the character of Susan calls for. Joe warms to her so well, that this is transformed into a tale of happily ever after. Meh!

As a car guy, I appreciate the film's four-wheeled star. Somehow, the Aisgills have a gorgeous, 1936 Crossley Regis Six. It does suit the scenic design to a tee.

No, it is not the original, a bit sex-heavy, but great cast and entertaining to look at. I thought the serie was very good.