State of the Union

Well acted and engaging. The shear simplicity of the premise and the varying tones of the dialogue really highlights how little we really know each other in relationships. Big fan of Nick Hornby's writing, so I was quite happy when stumbling upon this.

Both have done outstanding job. The separate life they have developed, and the chemistry that once those _characters_ shared but now don't is portrayed very beautifully _with_ chemistry between actors.

Have to say it: Rosamund Pike. Divine.

Will watch again.

Everything about the show is great but one thing that kind of bothered me is the low amount of sequence shots and crazy amount of cuts in the cafe scenes. Considering the episodes are only ten minutes long, I don't know why didn't opt in for more continuity. The cuts honestly distracted me a lot. But at least this gets better after episode seven.

Regardless, everyone should give the show a try, whole season is 100 minutes and worth every minute.

State of the Union

This was masterful writing, whilst we had two actors on screen seemingly representing two characters, there was in actuality very little or no differentiation between them, this was in fact, a soliloquy for two (duiliquy), or if you like a "talking head" in the form of an Alan Bennett monologue.

There was one single stream of sparkling undifferentiated thought ruminating over trust, betrayal, relationships and the human condition, split equally between the two protagonists. It was all served up using the device of metaphors often instigated by a single simple incident.

The chemistry was palpable between the two leads it was endearingly delightful, and they emanated the half of a whole relationship throughout.

Of course this is aimed at a very sophisticated viewer, the concerns expressed were the anxieties of the metropolitan bourgeoisie.

Brilliant writing, brilliant acting, brilliant directing 10/10

I feel like in this day and age when the traditional family is so apparently going into decline, where so many people are prone to the mentality that "if it doesn't work, I'll just start anew and find something that's better," this short little series is extremely refreshing and might provide a cause for some relevant and meaningful reflection.

What I really love about the series is how real the characters feel. Even though we only get to see a short snippet of their lives, the episodes do a great job of showing us how broken they are and the struggle that they are going through.

I don't think I would have enjoyed the series as much if they actually showed the conversations/therapy sessions that they had. Frankly that would have just been predictable/boring drama that I can certainly do without. What the short 10 minute style so brilliantly depicts is the internal struggles that they are grappling with, without any added meaningless cliches and drama.

Also Chris O'Dowd and Roasmund Pike are very likable and have great chemistry together. The conversations they had were quite witty consistently funny throughout without feeling too overly pretentious.

I couldn't recommend this enough to anyone who is even remotely interested after reading the synopsis.