One Night

This is probably one of my favorite series of all time, aptly addressing the issues of complicated female friendships, perceptions over time, and of course the prevalent issue of sexual assault and how it can impact you. Very intense, kept me wanting to keep watching each episode despite the late hour. All three leads were amazing, but Jodie Whittaker in that "one scene" where her expressions perfectly conveyed her emotional responses to what she was "listening to" ( I wont spoil it for you) just broke me.

All the characters are complex, as we are in real life, each trying their best to navigate their way after a traumatic night that robbed them of their youthful openness and joy about life.

It is so incredibly wonderful to watch stories of womens' lives told by women. Over the past few years I look for these shows. It makes me realise how profoundly accustomed we were to watching stories about women as imagined by men. Another thing I noticed was that the reviews for these shows are filled with men saying how unrealistic the characters are, and how crazy the female characters are. It's so refreshing not to be limited by those points of view, to see ourselves represented in tv drama.

This is the second thing I've watched this week showing women living with a constant threat of intimidation. I grew up as a teenager in the 70's. We had a good life, lots of freedom, but I've been thinking lately about how it was natural for us to have to be so very careful. I sometimes talk to my sister about the ways we had to act and talk and adjust ourselves to stay safe. I'm beginning to notice how much we adapted how we are in the world, and every show like this that I see shifts that dynamic.

This series is so beautifully written, directed, acted. Early on I worried about the pacing, but then a few more threads got woven in and I worried how it could all be resolved in 6 episodes. I used to live a few kilometres from where this is set, just down the road a bit. It is stunning country, and thats obvious in the scenery in this series. Makes me wonder why more tv hasn't been made in the area. The steep bluffs, the ocean, the small villages dotted along the coast, the sea cliff bridge, all create such an atmospheric background.

A couple of things that stuck out for me. All the women were very natural, hair messy, skin blemishes. The older women - the grandmothers - had sun damage, as you do living in that climate. The accents were all excellent. None of the characters were perfect, they all had their flaws which was part of the complexity of the drama. But in the end they managed to come to terms with themselves and each other. There was a lot of very positive messaging without being in any way preachy.

I watched this in 2 sittings and absolutely loved it.

I have a common interest in these types of stories, but this one really caught my attention. At first, i was going to watch it just for Jodie Whittaker. But as it went on, my emotions really skyrocketed even more than i imagined they would. I think all the actors did a brilliant job portraying their roles. It's such a rare experience to see queer normalisation and thats not even the focus of the plot. This show deserves way more love. I will happily recommend this to absolutely anyone who has an interest in dramas to do with past traumas. Please boost this show. There isn't enough content surrounding it.

I highly recommend watching "One Night." 6 parts. Stellar casting. Amazing cinematography of the Illawarra region including my favourite road. And an incredible storyline. I binge watched it over two nights. It is that good. Did I mention the cast? Already a fan of so many but this is next level acting. Jodie Whittaker. (Dr Who! Enough said) Yael Stone. (Orange Is The New Black) Nicole da Silva. (Wentworth) Plus supports who are usually leads themselves. Noni Hazlehurst. Tina Bursill. Best thing I've watched in a long time. The only reason that it didn't get 10 stars is that it dragged a little at one point.

The scenery is beautiful and the actors put their soul into the roles but the overall effect somehow doesn't connect. I don't understand how anyone can have PTSD of a event which they have no memory of, and its never explained in the series. The whole premise is of 3 friends who had a bad experience one night , one of them getting raped when she was unconscious and leaving the town after that. They meet 20 years after and have to relive the events in their mind and life as one of them Simone chooses to publish a book about it.

The younger versions certainly seem to have bonding but I could see no genuine connection between them as adults. And Simone keeps saying it's also her story, no its not because she is the only one who is not in trouble because of the book or the night. Try as hard as I might , I could not empathize with Jodie Whittaker's adult character because the younger version is shown bold and doesn't even have memory of the event.

Frankly "Hat" is the only character whose concerns seemed genuine.

And then there is this token Asian character who is a weasel trying to garner publicity at the expense of the anonymity of the writer.