Perfect Parents

What is happening to ITV Drama. First, "Losing Gemma" quite simply the worst TV drama I have seen in years, and now "Perfect Parents" a complete shambles from start to finish. Whoever is responsible for commissioning this drivel should be receiving there P45 by special delivery.

In most Drama/Thrillers, a requirement to suspend certain levels of belief is necessary so that the the plot line can develop, but "Perfect Parents" took this to a new level,I suspended so much belief by the end of this nonsense I felt I had been force fed on a lorry load of "Magic mushrooms", it was like the scriptwriters had decided to try and create a "Drama by numbers" involving some serious issues - Religion, Education,Greed,Fear,Murder,Paedophillia the only trouble was as The great Eric Morecambe once said when playing a piano, "I'm playing all the right Notes, just not necessarily in the correct order". For your next Script guys, I suggest you try reading a few more books on script development than "Script writing For Dummies".

Due to the ridiculous Script and the utter lack of Tension in the Direction, the acting was suitably low key, not the fault of the actors as the cast was top notch. But I suggest that all of the actors involved in this sorry piece of drama should instruct their agents the next time the Postman attempts to deliver a script from ITV drama Department, make sure the letterbox is firmly nailed shut!!

I don't see a lot of TV and mainly stick to comedy but I have recently got my Daughter into a Secondary School so when I saw it advertised I wanted to see it. It didn't disappoint me. The acting was incredible throughout. It was so realistic. I know several sets of parents who have decided that a Church School would be best for their Child even though they have never practised the faith and some are vehemently against it. This is partly due to the conditions of Schools and the closure of Grammars. Thankfully I have my beliefs and so I wasn't in that position but I can totally sympathise with parents who feel that their only way to get their child into what they view as a good School is to lie. It is actually a compliment to these Schools that parents have gone to this effort to secure a place. One of the best Dramas I have seen, when is it out on DVD?

I personally could have done without the thriller part. To me the best parts of the show dealt with the daughter Lucy's religious awakening. Particularly the last scene of the movie. I could see a sequel (or ongoing series) highlighting the increasing conflict between the devout daughter and her atheist father.

You could do a show every Christmas ending in a show where the daughter decides to become a nun or missionary (perhaps in a very dangerous part of the world). There is lots of material for in between episodes also with all the issues there are in the world for a devout girl to reconcile her faith with.

Perfect parents just won the RomaFictionFest, last week. I was part of the jury and we voted and awarded the movie , the main actor and the screenplay. At the end the movie won the Maximo award above all the other winners. When we viewed the movie for the first time, in the competition, the all jury stood up in front of the director, the actress and the producer, who were present in the theater, and clapped the hands for almost 3 minutes!! Great movie! I am proud of being part of the jury who voted for it. At the end of the award ceremony the actors and the directors were very kind to get back on the stage and take pictures with the jury. I hope this movie will be soon aired in Italy, I am recommending all my friends to watch it and I will buy the DVD as soon as it gets released. In a country like Italy where the Church tries to control everything it could be a lesson.

When the family man and mechanic Stuart (Christopher Eccleston) finds that his beloved only daughter Lucy (Maddy Garrood) was beaten and humiliated by her schoolmates in a public school, he decides to take Lucy out of the school and give home schooling to her with his wife Alison (Susannah Harker). Then they seek another public school since they can not afford to give a private education for Lucy, but all the places are worse than her original school. When they find the wonderful Catholic School St. Mary of the Veil, they prepare the application of their daughter. However, due to the high demand, one of the basic conditions to be accepted is being Catholic but Stuart and Alison are atheists. Stuart meets the smalltime crook Ed (Brendan Coyle) that charges an amount to provide the necessary documentation proving that Stuart, Alison and Lucy are Catholics including the testimony of Father Thomas (David Warner). Lucy is accepted St. Mary of the Veil, but the life of her family changes when Father Thomas is killed and Ed blackmails Stuart, while the mother of a rejected applicant does not believe that Lucy and her family are Catholics.

"Perfect Parents" is a surprisingly good and original movie. The story about parenthood, religion, competition and education has a simple beginning with a family pretending to be Catholic to get a better education for the young daughter. However, the simple lie complicates in a big twist, with murder, blackmail and greedy. With the exception of Lucy and Emma that are pure girls, all the characters are amoral and have serious deviation of behavior. Stuart is cynical and together his wife, they corrupt a priest, use false documentation and lie to get the aimed spot in the school. Ed is simply a scum. Jane is a woman that claims to be a religious and faithful Christian, but eagerly seeks a spot for her daughter, and does not show sympathy of mercy with Lucy. Father Thomas is a former pedophile and corruptible to afford to pay the blackmailer. Sister Antonia in the end shows that is a fair woman. The acting is excellent and gives credibility to the plot, and it was great to see the great David Warner again. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Segredo – Pecado em Família" ("The Secret – Sin in Family")