Recovery

I was blubbing like an idiot during the last ten minutes of this exceptional piece of television. I have to say that the idea of sitting down to view 90 minutes of what was bound to be pretty depressing material on a Sunday, was not a welcome one. The thought of yet another, over worthy, BAFTA winning possibility did not enthuse me......However the end result knocked me for 6. This is some of the best television I have seen in ages. For years I was under the impression that all originality had left the BBC's drama department. Our Friends in the North was the last production that truly blew me away and that was 10 years ago. However faith is restored and honour is satisfied. David Tenant was incredible! So many actors I can think of would have really gone to town on a part like this, but never once did I see Mr Tenant as an actor or as the Doctor, all I saw was Alan Hamilton. I haven't had my heart wrenched this much since Daniel Craigs performance as Geordie Peacock all those years ago. Sarah Parish was also incredible and I really hope this role brings her better roles in the future. All of the cast were great but special mention must go to the director who really placed us inside Alans head. The toaster scene, in particular, made me feel quite queasy.

I'm so glad I taped this film when it came on BBC last month! It blew my mind, so gut wrenching and real. David Tennant is absolutely fabulous in this, even though his character isn't always that easy to like or identify with. The final scene where he plays the song just broke my heart, those eyes....

I'm guessing that he made this film in between the Dr. Who series, and that makes it even more of an achievement for me. I just love Dr. Who and yet I saw absolutely nothing of him in Mr. Tennants portrayal of this man who knows that he has changed and struggles to create some sort of new identity and life.

great little intense drama!

Recovery is a well-judged and balanced drama of a sensitive subject that doesn't sentimentalise the main characters. David Tennant and Sarah Parish bring to the fore the complex and conflicting emotions of a couple deeply in love struggling to come to terms with the personality changes they both endure and also must make to survive a tragic accident.

Tennant, as Alan, brings humour as well as a dangerous lecherousness, as an engineer recovering from a memory loss brought on by a road accident. Alan is not portrayed simply as a victim but as human being with feelings doing the best he can to make sense of his new life. Sarah Parish's Tricia is not a clichéd stand-by-her-man housewife who will do anything to support her husband. She struggles with falling out of love with Alan, as the man she once new and loved is now a completely different person - a stranger to her.

Contrary to some opinion, this - in my view - makes perfect Sunday night viewing. Too often, we are shown soft family dramas or detective series, like Heartbeat, which rot and putrefy the brain. Programme commissioners seem to think that the traditional day of rest is also a day when our minds go to sleep. More challenging and thought-provoking drama like Recovery would seriously change the situation.

This movie made me cry like a infant! I've had brain injury myself and all the complications in day to day life shown in movie was so accurate!! I was blown away, I watched this just because of David Tennant. And he did deliver unbelievable character, with all the confusion. And when you have brain damage, you don't understand it yourself, you think you are totally alright! But you aren't.. Wifes difficulties I recognized very well, my spouse from that time had same questions, when this is over.. Well it never is.. To sum up: This is incredible movie about brain damage and life after the damage!! This should be shown in hospitals to all familys of brain damege patients!! Definately!!

Alan (David Tennant) and Tricia Hamilton (Sarah Parish) are married with two sons. He's a manager of a property company. He gets hit by a truck and suffers brain damage. He wakes up from a coma with memory loss and unstable behaviors. The family struggles to cope and Tricia has little help. He can't keep his job and they are broke.

David Tennant does a good performance of a brain-damaged man. Sarah Parish has a nice turn when she breaks down. The story doesn't really have much drama. It's one incident after another. It doesn't build as much as it's a drip, drip, drip of Alan's outbursts. It doesn't make for a great dramatic movie but it's compelling for people dealing with similar situations.