समाचार

Louisa Mellor Feb 7, 2017

Apple Tree Yard concluded with strong performances and worthwhile critique of the legal system, but was it great drama?

This review contains spoilers.

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Apple Tree Yard’s final episode aired last night to make room for next Sunday’s Bafta awards ceremony on BBC One. This time next year, might the thriller feature among the nominations?

Its performances absolutely deserve recognition. Emily Watson’s portrayal of Yvonne Carmichael has been detailed and nuanced. Mark Bonnar too, who played husband Gary, is clearly much more than just a safe pair of acting hands. Alongside them, director Jessica Hobbs told a clear-headed and empathetic sad story.

Best drama though? Not quite. Though the courtroom scenes made worthwhile points about the savagery and humiliation women, whether there as experts or defendants, can face on the dock, the...

Louisa Mellor Jan 29, 2017

Apple Tree Yard’s second episode paints a bleak but honest picture of the aftermath of sexual assault…

This review contains spoilers.

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If they weren’t already chastened by last week’s brutal final moments, anyone still rubbing their thighs over episode one’s sex scenes will feel suitably uncomfortable now. Until its last-minute shift into thriller territory, episode two of Apple Tree Yard was a sombre hour focused on the aftermath of rape.

The revenge plot didn’t make an appearance until very late, which gave due prominence to Yvonne’s dismal story, one told by director Jessica Hobbs and Emily Watson with restrained yet frank intimacy. We were shown the finger-shaped bruises on Yvonne’s thighs and how her psychological bruises outlasted them. Before she asked her 'spook' lover to step in, we saw her leave her job,...