Normal People

It felt almost like reading a book where you envision the characters so vividly, you can almost touch them. The chemistry the two leads have, their acting, the cinematography, are all so well blended together, so seamless, it's palpable. A melancholy trip worth taking, if only to remind the ones past teenage years how vulnerable and all-engulfing a young love is.

Brilliant, heartbreaking viewing experience. Give yourself over to this wonderful story and be ready for a genuine rollercoaster. Graphic intimacy in many movies and tv series often seems gratuitous and difficult to watch. I was immediately and pleasantly surprised, therefore, by this story which explores the sexual awakening and the ultimate love story between two young people. The scenes of their lovemaking are both graphic and beautifully choreographed.

This was an incredibly moving drama. One of the most tender and sad love stories I've watched (warning: nudity and sexual situations). The two primary characters are so complicated and vulnerable, I couldn't help loving and suffering with them, myself. This is beautifully performed, written and directed. Based on a book, of the same title (which I just downloaded on Audible), nominated for 44 media awards (Emmys, BAFTAs, etc.) and winner of 17. I give this limited series a 9 (superb) out of 10. {Drama, Love Story}

Outspoken student Marianne Sheridan (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is an outcast at school. Connell Waldron (Paul Mescal) is the quiet popular jock. His mother works as a cleaning lady in the Sheridan's large family home. The two Irish teens have a secret sexual relationship but he refuses to acknowledge her in public. Their lives and loves would intertwine over the years.

I have to be really honest. I was a little unconvinced at first. The actors are too old to play teens. Both characters have issues that put me off. Marianne is too bitter. Connell is too quiet and his treatment of her is emotionally brutal. By the fourth episode, the age thing stops mattering. Quite frankly if I knew they would be aging up in the show, I wouldn't sweat that issue. As for these characters, they really grow on me, both as roles and the actors. These young new faces are truly engaging and they are beautiful to boot. As characters, there are emotions beneath that are really worthwhile to explore. They become more and more fully formed people and that's the brilliance of this limited series. These are great characters performed by compelling new faces.

Another show lifted from the Guardian's Best of 2020 list was "Normal People", a show I'd seen hyped quite a lot, but evidently missed when it aired. I'm glad I took a little bit of time to watch the show slowly over the Christmas break, as, despite not being as salacious as I thought it might be, it has some truly wonderful performances.

In a small town in Ireland, two students, Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal) begin a relationship, which they keep secret from their school friends. The connection seems to end though when both regret Connell's decision to take a different girl to the debs ball. Months later, the pair reconnect as both attend Trinity college, in Dublin. Though the dynamics of their relationship has changed, their connection remains tangible.

What I liked is that I felt both Marianne and Connell were well rounded characters that didn't fall into stereotypes. Connell is the school star Gaelic footballer, but he isn't a "jock" cliché - in that he's bright, bashful and soft spoken. Though it is a stretch to see Marianne as the "ugly duckling" at any point, she's spiky and damaged but that mostly comes from her family, rather than her schoolmates. I knew nothing about the story going in, so was really pleased when we got to the secret relationship coming to a head in the first few episodes. The show then resets, jumping forward to them both at University for a few months and the ability that gave for the characters to reinvent themselves.

I don't want to raise one to knock the other, as Daisy Edgar-Jones is excellent too, but I've seen her in other things. Paul Mescal is revelatory. So vulnerable and open to showing that Connell is as broken as Marianne, even if he has been able to mask it more.

That it pierced the heart of this wretched old soul speaks volumes to the quality of the series. I'll have to come to the next Sally Rooney adaptation a bit sooner.