The Outcast

As others have said the photography and other production valued are excellent, but the actual script didn't do it for me. What is up with the current dislike of dialogue. People say the acting was great. I can't really fault it, but it's not really that hard to stare at a camera and look sad, and mumble a little. There was an awful lot of that. And most of the supporting characters were just tropes.

Most of the film is unremittingly tragic, violent, and depressing. Long stretches of the protagonist's life are skipped over in a way that leaves enormous holes in his story. (Sorry, trying to avoid spoilers.)

There are a couple of nice scenes where the characters manage a three minute conversation, and one very positive "shock" moment. But that, plus a pretty girl and a bit of hope isn't enough to make it worth the interminable hell of the first 3/4 of the series.

This is not an easy drama to watch....but the rewards make it all worthwhile. Yes, it starts off a bit slow. You have to adjust yourself to the pace and, for lack of a better word, the quietness of the piece. The score is fairly minimal, aside from a few intense strains that play during moments of torment for the main character. And it works perfectly.

No one says more than they need to, and the silences enrich the drama. This is a story of people who have secrets, who struggle to express themselves and communicate. There is no unneeded expository dialogue; it trusts the viewers to pay attention. And the visual setting, the performances, the story are so riveting that you can't stop paying attention.

The acting is consistently wonderful. I agree with another reviewer who said it took some adjusting to MacKay as Older Lewis and JBF as Alice, but I can't fault either of them for that. Alice almost dropped out of the sky (one reviewer said it was like Gilbert had ordered her from Harrods, LOL), so it made sense that she seemed awkward at first. And MacKay is not only much older than Finn Elliot but does not particularly resemble him. So to me, that was more a matter of how they were introduced than of the acting.

MacKay is quite brilliant, and I was very impressed with Greg Wise. The secondary characters are seamless and strong. Jessica Bardem is thoroughly winning. And JBF really hit her stride in the scene in the restaurant with Young Lewis (around the middle of the first episode) and never broke it after that. Alice became a compelling character in what is, IMO, her best performance to date. Granted I have not seen everything she's done, but this was a great showcase for her talent and I think she is growing exponentially as an actress.

When it came to and end I felt like I had just watched a classic. In retrospect the entire story became an almost perfect whole and it stayed with me. I watched it again and enjoyed it even more the second time. Haunting, beautiful, bittersweet. Just a wonderful series.

The good old BBC has done it again... what a magnificent series, I cant think of any other 2 part series that was this gloomy, and yet beautiful and perfect in every sense of the word..., from the very beginning to the end, I cannot recollect even one misstep. George MacKay kills it as the protagonist, Lewis Aldridge. Im sure this guy is going to make it big... the range of emotions that he portrays is mind- boggling, he portrayed them all, each and every one of them. And once again manages to drive home the point why the brits are way better actors than their American counterparts. If I had to sum it all up in a sentence; Watching 'The Outcast', I didn't even blink once. PS: Not for people who don't like dark and gloomy dramas. PPS: If you are broken, then this is probably one of the best series that you will ever come across in your life.

Tonight we watched The Outcast (2015) on DVD and I think it's the best performance I've seen George McKay give cast as Lewis Aldrich who's mother tragically drowns in an accident witnessed by young Lewis played beautifully by Finn Elliot. Set in an English Village The Outcast a novel written by Sadie Jones in 2008 is gritty and powerful exploring and exposing taboo subjects in 1957 such as Parental abuse of children ,teenage self mutilation as the result of the emotional starvation of affection from a parent and physical violence and abuse and the wives and children who lived in denial and shame.

If you liked Atonement by Ian McEwan, you'll love this television adaptation from the bestselling novel from the author of The Snakes, The Outcast is a powerful portrait of unexpected love and treacherous charades against the backdrop of a sleepy post-war English village August 1957. ...

I cant understand why The Outcast and George McKay hasn't won any major awards ? My description of the basic plot may sound to gruelling to watch ,it's not though because Director Iain Softley has managed to make this 2 part Tele film beautiful to watch its set in a Midsomer village setting and the characters hold your interest Greg Wise as Gilbert Aldrich Lewis's emotionally frigid father is excellent as is Nathaniel Parker as a Dicky Carmichael a detestable excuse for a human being posing as the wealthy Village industrialist who's wife and 2 daughters guard the family's violent secret. Everyone is excellent in this film especially actresses Jessica Barden cast as Kit Carmichael who is one of the few people in the village to show understanding and kindness to the very damaged Lewis and Jessica Brown Findlay who you may remember played Lady Sybil Crawley in Downtown Abbey in The Outcast she plays Alice ,Kits stepmother who try's to help him but is unable to reach out till it's almost too late mainly due to her husbands neglect and inability to be a father. But the whole story really revolves around Lewis (George McKay) who truly is the outcast through no fault of his own who's self esteem and self worth has been eroded away by neglect and ignorance of his mental state caused by the traumatic events he experienced watching his mother die. It's little wonder that George McKay's film and television career has made him one of the most sort after actors in the business today I predict he will be as great as Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Raymond and Ben Whishaw if he keeps turning out performances in projects like The Outcast.

With some great talent and such an interesting story this had a lot of potential to be good, even great. And all the high anticipation was not quashed, with a very good first episode, with a couple of reservations, and an outstanding second one. Don't let the constant gloom put you off, this was a powerful and poignant story done rivetingly by the BBC.

The Outcast looks great for starters, with the post-war period detail done to very elegant and atmospheric effect and the whole drama being beautifully photographed throughout. Loved also the haunting and carefully chosen music scoring (no shrill violins for example) that gave off a real sense of melancholy while allowing the drama to resonate and not overbear it, as well as how appropriately restrained the direction was. The script is intelligently structured, thoughtful and affecting, it doesn't rely too much on over-exposition, the mood is not too one-dimensional (thanks to a reasonably but subtly upbeat first twenty minutes or so) and there is very little misplaced to interrupt the flow (apart from the slightly misplaced sex scene in the bar). The story, while deliberately but seldom dully paced, is incredibly powerful in its best parts and has a great deal of poignancy and nuance, particularly memorable was the truly harrowing drowning scene and the contrast between the torment and secret pain and the civilised and restrained society was depicted powerfully and without any compromises too.

As for the cast, the performances are uniformly impressive, with seemingly clichéd characters to begin with but ones that show more dimension and meat in the second half. There were two performances that left me with reservations at first but once the material got meatier and the characters more interesting in the second half their performances got far better. George McKay seemed rather vacant and gormless at first (it was also at first a little disconcerting having the older Lewis bearing no resemblance to the younger one), but his emotional range gets wider, the more emotionally damaged Lewis becomes, and more subtle in the second half, making it easier to empathise with Lewis and the pain he's going through regardless of his actions. Jessica Brown-Findlay at first seemed a little lost, but the more sympathetic, hapless and tormented Alice became the more comfortable Brown-Findlay seemed.

Finn Elliot is wonderful as the younger Lewis, his grief and loss heart-wrenchingly portrayed, while Hattie Morahan is charming and a breath of fresh air in contrast to the drama's overall atmosphere. Greg Wise plays uptight and stern brilliantly, and there's even one part that shows that he is not entirely devoid of feelings, and Nathaniel Parker excels in a very atypical role as the domineering and brutish Dickie Carmichael. Jessica Barden also does a fine job showcasing Kit's physical and emotional damage, she is also very convincing playing a character quite a bit younger than she is.

To conclude, excellent and powerful BBC drama, that started promisingly with reservations and fared even better in the second episode. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox