sterling-39994

Because of all the highly positive commentary, we started to watch RRR last night. We got through about five or six minutes, and bagged it. Yeah the English were horrible, we get it. But the sickening violence was more than we wanted to see or handle. Taking this extreme cruelty into one's consciousness is neither 'entertaining', uplifting, nor 'educational'. Perhaps it was 'realistic' but it struck us as a perverse wallow.

After her child is brutally stolen: "Don't waste a one pound sterling on a bullet for that bereaved mother!" Right, just club her to death. And then we switch to a very lengthy scene wherein a native in the employ of the Brits, savagely beats up on his protesting countrymen. At that point we said enough.

I really hate to give this series a negative review, because I have seen Claire Borotra in a few other series and liked her very much. In this series, however, she plays a character - a Judge! - who is massively judgmental - no pun intended.

The situation is that her father had a daughter from an adulterous liaison. He kept this a secret from his family. Nevertheless, he did the honorable thing, supported his mistress and her child, and divided his estate between the two daughters.

When he dies, the Judge finds out about her half-sister, and explodes in quite unreasonable fury, blaming the young woman for her father's adultery. Talk about blaming the victim - or in this case, the innocent result of an affair. She consequently does everything she can to 'get back' at her half-sister.

By the fourth episode, there was no indication that her attitude would soften, or that she might wake up as to how illogically nasty her actions are. I suppose it is an odd kind of tribute to Claire Borotra that she succeeds in making her character so thoroughly dis-likeable. But that is precisely the problem for me, and I stopped watching.

(Edited to correct typos)